War of underdeveloped economies

Ukraine's war against Russia is not a new type of war of the future, as we often say.

“This is a war between two industrialized and inefficient economies that have had huge stockpiles of weapons since the Soviet era. Although Ukraine's stockpile was significantly reduced due to explosions in warehouses and sales, it was still quite large.”

And the methods of warfare in both depend on their own technological capabilities. You may remember how in the first 2 years of full-scale war we often said: “The Russians have more weapons, but we are ahead of them in terms of efficiency.” This efficiency was provided by Himars and high-precision Western artillery.

But again. The West provided us with a small part of its own technological capabilities. And they enabled us to win several battles, regain some territories, and even convinced the public of our victory.

“Can you imagine if only 20 Himars made so much noise, what can 400 do? And they have a navy and air force. Now the Russians have actually changed the situation in their favor with guided bombs. Can you imagine what 100-200 F-16s could have done then?”

The problem is that our allies have these means now, but they are not giving them to us.

That's why, due to the shortage of aircraft, artillery plays a major role in Ukrainian defense. And because of the shortage of shells, we have started to develop the production of drones. Because it is cheaper and easier. Because shells require a room and expensive equipment. And drones can be assembled in an office. Again. Due to the lack of missile programs, we started turning reconnaissance drones into kamikazes. Because it is also cheaper and easier.

I want to explain here. Personally, I do not argue that drones can become a weapon of the future, but drones handmade from foreign components are unlikely to become trendsetters in this area

But again. If artillery and drones play a high role in Ukraine because of our weak technological capabilities, our allies may have a different vision. And it actually is. Because they have greater capabilities than we do.

And one more point. Just think about it. There is a land border between Ukraine and Russia. There is an ocean between the United States and China.

Source

About the author: Pavlo Vernivskyi, economist, expert at the Oleksandr Pol Institute.

The editors do not always share the opinions expressed by the blog authors.