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Soviet Union [USSR] Military Technology
The Soviet Union has taken an incremental approach to military
research and development. The military has deployed early versions
of weapons and equipment with limited capabilities and has
gradually improved them. The same basic weapons system has usually
been fielded over a period of years in several different variants.
Arms designers have relied heavily on integrating components from
earlier models into new systems in order to provide stability and
compatibility in the production process. The armed forces have
tended to favor weapons that were produced in mass quantities, were
reliable, and were easy to use in combat over expensive, complex,
and technologically superior armaments. Following this rule of
simplicity, the Soviet Union has produced many outstanding and
tactically innovative weapons. Nevertheless, it has had
difficulties producing more sophisticated systems, such as large
airframes, small nuclear reactors, and quiet submarine propellers.
These problems have forced it to resort to technological espionage
and to copying Western designs. The State Committee for Science and
Technology has tasked KGB officers and other Soviet officials in
Western countries to acquire the components or technologies needed
to produce certain armaments.
Data as of May 1989
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