I would estimate that there is a certain amount of truth to this, but the author is looking at Russia through American eyes and seeing Russia replicate the US defense industry and military Keynesianism as integral to the US economy. At the same time, as the author points out, militaries and defense industries in all countries are looking to enhance their interests, which are served by larger appropriations. On the other hand, as the author also admits, the Russian military is need of modernization. What he doesn't mention is that NATO ha been moving toward Russia since the Clinton Administration and is now encroaching on Russia's red lines. And, as Putin mentioned in his recent address, G. W. Bush's unilateral abrogation of the missile treaty was a signal. Moreover, everything changed
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Mike Norman considers the following as important: defense industry, military expenditure, military Keynesianism, military-industrial complex, Russia, Russian economy, Russian military policy
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The National Interest
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See also
American effort said to lag Russia, ChinaAll this is top secret, so no one really knows, or will know unless the stuff get used. Let's hope that never happens.
“If you look at some of our peer competitors, China being one, the number of facilities that they’ve built to do hypersonics… surpasses the number we have in this country. It’s quickly surpassing it by 2 or 3 times. It is very clear that China has made this one of their national priorities. We need to do the same,” Walker told a press briefing.This is emerging as a serious problem for the US owing to the sheer size of China. The US is a big country by world standards but it is still dwarfed by China and India.
Asia Times
US developing its own ‘invincible’ hypersonic weapons