Very well said, except, that your presumptions are most probably based on watching Discovery Channel and History Channel dramatisation and propaganda.
Please allow me to disappoint you with certain facts that rubbishes many things that you have stated:
- Despite having suffered more than any other country after the World War, USSR emerged as a superpower. It happened through hard work and dedication. The result is the launch of the Sputnik. Then Laika, Gagarin and Tereshkova followed. These facts, contrary to what you states, does show that indeed the US lagged behind the USSR in many aspects. However, to appreciate this, you will need to get a fair understanding of supporting life in space. I don't even want to go into space-walk.
- The first helmet mounted sighting was developed by the USSR. The West wasted little time in copying that.
- The first SST (super sonic transport) was built by USSR. It was called Tupolev-144. Again, the West wasted little time accusing USSR of having stolen plans from the French, although, aviation experts and people who understand the difficulties of building such a plane will surely trash any such suggestion.
- Despite being a 1960's Soviet design, the Soyuz Space Capsule remains the safest and most reliable space transport vehicle till date.
So this conclusion is based on the assumption that the number of parts in a machine is directly proportional to it's finesse, i.e.
more the merrier, isn't it? What about the possibility that the Soviets were just better designers and optimised their products making it simple, easy to maintain and reliable? Ever wonder why Google Chrome is gaining popularity over Internet Explorer?
You probably don't know, but one of the safest airliners the world has ever seen is the
Ilyushin-62. Most Soviet airliners were made rugged and capable of withstanding a lot of abuse. The only problem with
Ilyushin-62 was it's fuel economy, which I concede. Also, a
MiG-29 can land in Football Field (not American Football, but Football), as can the
Tupolev-134,
Tupolev-154,
Ilyushin-62 and
Ilyushin-76 and the list does not end there. The most successful water bomber is
Beriev-200 and it is not known how long it will take the US to built something as capable as this one. You should also check out
Antonov-225 and
Tupolev-160.
I'm sure Soviet hydraulic systems allow Soviet planes to do a lot more which if Western planes tried, would explode into a big ball of aviation fuel fire!
Check this out:
And this one as well:
Now I have a piece of humour for you that an IIT graduate had once told me (this is just a joke, but reflects a lot of reality):
The Soviets and US were planning to go to space to do some research. Their efforts were kept secret from each other. The US wondered, "How on earth are the Soviets going to take notes in space? A ball point pen won't work if there is no gravity!" Thus, the US government send some spies to the USSR and spent a lot of money inventing a pen that can work without gravity.
However, the Soviets had already gone to space and returned, and soon the spies. The spies were asked, "How did they manage to invent a pen that works without gravity?" The spies responded, "Sir, they were using pencils!"