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Comment by trhway | Hacker News Reader

>russian tech

you must be kidding. Russia can't even build a modular space rocket (Angara, last 20 years) which Musk has pretty much built during last 12 years from scratch. All other areas of technology are pretty much non-existent. You are welcome to mention at least one area where "russian tech" does exist (programmers employed in the Russian offices of transnationals obviously don't count :)

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Of all the example you could give of Russian tech you pick their space program. Which is currently the only one capable of bringing people to the ISS. Without Russia's rockets, modular or not, the ISS would be deserted right now.

but the soyuz was designed in the '60s, it's not much of an example of "the modern russian tech scene" as much as of the "USSR whatever it takes" practices, I think?

The Soyuz programme is still in active development. It began in the 60s but they're still designing/making new Soyuz rockets/spacecraft.

>they're still designing/making new Soyuz rockets/spacecraft.

that is exactly the point :) They are also still designing/making new "Zhiguli"("Lada") cars ("cars made of turnip" http://vdownload.eu/watch/856185-top-gear-lada-kalina.html ) Beside modest improvements to existing tech, Russia hasn't been able to produce new modern tech in 30 years. They sell oil (with most of the complex drilling in the last 20 years done by western companies with Russia completely missing shale/fracking technology) and buy PCs.

Hmm - this : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RT-2PM2_Topol-M can do things that no other system can do (hypersonic manuvering)

This is fairly unique as well : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VA-111_Shkval

But it was still mostly designed over 20 years ago http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/RT-2PM2_Topol-M#Development_a...

Thats a dumb argument. Boeing still makes 747s, which is the same age.

but boeing also launched the 767, 777 and 787 in the intervening decades.

you have obviously never driven/ridden in Russian car :). Otherwise 747 comparison would never cross your mind :)

Compared to china, they are still insanely advanced. China's plans to have their own space station in 20 yrs, this could be easily halved with russian tech.

they are still well behind US pretty much anywhere where it matters. For example Russia still can't produce 5th generation fighter (PAK-FA isn't a 5th gen fighter, it has only body of it so far) - 20+ years after F-22 - so Russia couldn't be of help here even if they wanted, and thus China was forced to steal F-35 plans for their J-20. Beside the space which is still running on half-century old tech, and a few military pieces like new ICBM and some missiles, there is nothing else worth of tech transfer.

The US is very well prepared to fight the last war, and the F22 doesn't matter in any potential US/China conflict.

China knows they'll likely never need to fight the US directly. They just need to have enough fighting power to mean that the US cares more about the loses they'll take in retaking the Spratly Islands (for example) that they think it is worth. That means the US will call it a regional dispute and ignore it.

But this whole discussion is silly. China doesn't want to fight the US, and the US doesn't want to fight China.

Not to overly defend Chinese space capabilities, but those timescales are a choice, not a constraint. China's manned space program is a prestige program, not a functional one (though this is typical of manned spaceflight). That means they're being very careful and cautious. If they wanted to put a permanently manned multi-module station in orbit, put people on the moon within a decade, etc, they could. But only at levels of risk and cost they aren't willing to support.

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