Russian weapons are losing its fame...they are taking down easily by western platforms....
Russian weapons are not bad. A weapon is as effective as its wielder.
Weapons that require a high level of training and proficiency are hence, not mastered to be used effectively by rag-tag forces, making a bad reputation out of them.
Example:-
- Tanks, American-supplied Iraqi M1 Abrams were made toast by Jihadis, Saudi Arabian M1s met the same fate in hands of Yemeni rebels
- Jets/Planes, they require highly skilled professionals as well as a well-established environment of air-defense, AWACS, EW, and ground support to be effective according to the scenario.
In a general example, Russians are ready to sell their hardware to every tom, dick, and harry with cash in their pockets. This makes poor and unprofessional militaries to buy their hardware, and when some superior & well-organized force (like USA/NATO/Israel) steamrolls over that military, the Russian hardware gets a bad name.
A prime & recent example? Pakistanis trashing AMRAAMs and not able to hit a single Su-30 while the RCS of Su-30 is enough to be detected from Afganistan. We shot down their F-16 with a Mig-21 and a single R-73.
On the other hand, Russian weapons that require small to no skilled training are shining.
Example: -
- Guns, the famed AK series, no training required. Just point and shoot.
- RPGs (RPG-29s were able to penetrate CHOBHAM armor of British challenger tanks), ATGMs (minimal training, Kornets are very effective in making toast of tank armour).
That being said, I am aware Russian equipment is slowly lagging behind from Western and Chinese hardware especially in the domain of electronics. But the American propaganda of every Russian equipment is junk is just bullshit.