NATO during a Trump Presidency: Stay, Pay, or why don't you all just f-f-fade away?

[Hooahguy]

Well in general, the Russian military pays their soldiers waaaaay less than most western armies. Last I recall it was about $6-12,000 USD a year for your average soldier. They also have a massive issue with maintenance, like their only aircraft carrier breaks down a lot. Needs to be accompanied by tugboats constantly because of how often its boilers break down. But at the same time the Russians build their equipment to be hardier than their western counterparts. I recall watching a video which said that Russian fighter jets can take off and land on whats basically dirt airfields while western planes cant otherwise their engines break.

[Gilrandir]

Sometimes it is not the figures that are symptomatic of a country's military potential, but the quality of the units. How can you be sure that all Russian tanks are up to the task and not just obsolete buckets of bolts and nuts prone to malfunctioning at the most unappropriate moment - as it was the case with Armata at the parade (https://themoscowtimes.com/articles/...hearsals-46384)?
Russian planes have also crashed a number of times over the last copule of years:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...tary_accidents

2010 - a MiG-31 crashed in the Perm region, no one was injured.
6 September 2011 - a MiG-31 on a training mission crashed in the Perm region, killing the two pilots. The whole fleet of 370 fighters was grounded while an investigation into the cause was carried out.
13 March 2012 - a new Ka-52 attack helicopter crashed near Torzhok, killing both pilots.
23 May 2012 - a Russian-made An-30 military plane crashed while landing in Caslav, the Czech Republic. 23 were on board at the time, 6 of whom suffered burns, one being left in a critical condition. The plane's front landing gear collapsed as it touched down, causing it to leave the runway and break in two, catching fire. The passengers were made up of 14 Russians and 9 Czechs, all on an Open Sky treaty mission, for conducting surveillance flights over the territory of participant nations (NATO members, Russia and other countries).
29 October 2013 - a Ka-52 helicopter crashed in the south-east of Moscow. Both pilots ejected safely.
11 February 2014 - a Su-24 bomber crashed in Volgogradskaja oblast', just after take-off. Both pilots died. Pilot or mechanical error are suspected.
4 June 2015 - a MiG-29 fighter crashed and was completely destroyed in the Astrakhan oblast'. Both pilots parachuted to safety.
4 June 2015 - the same day an unarmed Su-34 bomber in Voronezh oblast' overshot the runway when its parachute failed to open on landing. It overturned, severely damaging the plane.
8 June 2015 - a Tu-95s ran off a runway at the Ukrainka bomber base and caught fire during take-off in the far eastern Amur region. As a result, one crew member was killed and another badly burned.
5 July 2015 - a MiG-29 crashed near Krasnodarsk reportedly due to a fire onboard. The pilot ejected and survived.
6 July 2015 - a Sukhoi Su-24M "Fencer" frontal strike-bomber crashed in the Khabarovskiy region soon after takeoff. Both pilots died.
14 July 2015 - a Tupolev Tu-95MS Bear strategic bomber crashed during a training flight 80km from Khabarovsk, killing two of seven pilots.
9 June 2016 - a Sukhoi SU-27 fighter plane crashed 30km from Moscow. The pilot died. All flights were SU-27s were suspended following the crash.

Note the upward tendency of crashes.

As for the navy:

They also have a massive issue with maintenance, like their only aircraft carrier breaks down a lot. Needs to be accompanied by tugboats constantly because of how often its boilers break down.

I think you have seen pictures of "Admiral Kuznetsov" passing through the English channel (and farther into the Mediterranean) belching forth black smokes. They say it happens either when the engines are started after a long shutdown (and it lasts as long as it takes for the engines to warm up) or when the engines have serious problems.

So simple mathematics may not paint an objective picture.