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Originally Posted by RN7
The best combat aircaft they have is the Russian Su-27SK/Su-30. Barely 20%of their combat airforce would be capable of taking on front-line USAF/USN/USMC fighters, let alone achieving air superiority. How are they going to put a 5th generation aircraft in service within 10 years on their own?
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I didn't make the claim, the Chinese did. I'm sure that they are overestimating a bit but I don't doubt that they intend to do it. Given their recent successes at modernization, they probably will. Their AF is far more capable today than it was 20 years ago. In another 20, they will have further closed the technological gap on us.
And there's something to be said for sheer numbers and interior lines of supply. If the U.S. and China went to war in east Asia, the U.S. forces would be at the end of a very long lines of supply while the Chinese would be fighting essentially in their own backyard.
Quote:
Originally Posted by RN7
What was the Gulf war, the Invasion of Iraq and ongoing fight against the Taleban in Afghanistan? The US is better prepared than any country for a conventional war.
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You are right about the Desert Storm and OIF. You could not be more wrong about the war in Afghanistan. It is the epitome of a guerilla/counterinsurgency war. No NATO ground force commander would call what's going on over there a conventional war. (If you mean "non-nuclear" you are correct, but that would be putting words in your mouth). This fundamental slip actually supports my point that the Chinese are not to be taken lightly. Despite our massive technological superiority over the Taliban, including complete air supremacy, the U.S. and its allies have not been able to defeat them strategically after 9 years of combat operations. And you are claiming that the U.S can defeat a country of 1.3 billion people, with the world's largest military, fighting on home soil (or close to it)? You are failing to see the forrest for the trees.