Should NATO and Russia come to blows . . . here are five NATO weapons Russia should fear:
Britain's Challenger 2 tank
Backbone of the UK's tank force, the Challenger 2 would be in the forefront should Britain commit heavy armor to a European conflict against Russia. . . .
Given that the most advanced tanks in the world haven't really faced each other (the First Gulf War was 25 years ago, and even Israel hasn't fought a tank battle against Russian-made armor in more than 30 years), predicting how a Challenger 2 would fare against Russian tanks would be conjecture. Weighing in at 63 tons, the Challenger 2 is certainly heavier than the various models of the 40- to 50-ton T-72s that Russia fields, including the T-72B3 and the T-90. . . .
Germany's Type 212 submarine
If diesel submarines scare the heck out of the U.S. Navy, the Russian Navy can't be looking forward to dealing with Germany's ultra-quiet Type 212 sub. . . .
The Type 212 is armed with wire-guided DM2A4 torpedoes, as well as WASS 184 and Blackshark torpedoes. It is scheduled to be equipped with IDAS missiles, fired from the sub's torpedo tubes that can hit air, land or sea targets. . . .
Eurofighter Typhoon . . .
The Typhoon is used by the German and British air forces, which are the NATO members more likely to encounter the Russians in Eastern Europe, and the Italian and Spanish air forces, which are not. Though it is has some stealth features, the Typhoon is more of a dogfighter than the F-22.
Armed with a 27-millimeter cannon and a variety of missiles, including the Sidewinder, AMRAAM and Meteor for air-to-air combat and Taurus and Storm Shadow for air-to-ground targets, the Eurofighter should prove a capable opponent. Pitting it against highly maneuverable Russian fighters such as the Su-35 would make for an interesting dogfight.
Eurocopter Tiger . . .
With a speed of about 181 miles per hour, various versions of the Tiger are armed with Hellfire, Spike, PARS 3 and HOT 3 anti-tank missiles, Mistral air-to-air missiles, and air-to-ground rockets.
The Tiger has seen limited combat during French and German operations in Afghanistan and Libya. But should hostilities erupt between NATO and Russia, the Tiger will be stalking Russian tanks.
Israel's Spike Missile
Why is an Israeli weapon on a list of deadly NATO hardware? Because the Spike is used by numerous NATO members, including Belgium, Britain, Croatia, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain.
Michael Peck is a contributing writer at Foreign Policy and a writer for War is Boring. Follow him on Twitter:@Mipeck1.
