US Army 'outranged and outgunned' by Russians

Is there any country in the world whose army has more and better artillery systems than the US ground force?

Yes, and it' s Russia, says Mark Milley, chief of staff of the US Army.

At a hearing before the US Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday, the four-star general was asked if the U.S. Army is "outranged" by any possible adversary.

"Yes ... the ones in Europe, really Russia," he was quoted by Russian news agency Sputnik as answering. "We don' t like it, we don' t want it, but yes, technically [we are] outranged, outgunned on the ground."

The United States, he added, is outranged in terms of not being able to match up to Russia's direct or indirect fire and ground-based systems, including tanks and artillery.

"It is not overly dramatic, but it is the combination of systems," he said.

Milley' s comments were also reported by Defense News, an independent news provider on military affairs.

Russia is implementing a large-scale military modernization program. According to Sputnik, 70 percent of its military hardware will be upgraded by 2020, and the total cost is estimated to reach approximately 291 billion U.S. dollars.
Source: XINHUA