How the U.S. can counter China’s size and other advantages. Decades of force cuts and deferred modernization have left the U.S. Air Force unable to simultaneously deter nuclear attacks, defend the U.S. homeland, and defeat Chinese aggression at acceptable levels...
PLA
The U.S. Air Force operational concepts for penetrating into contested areas assume that U.S. forces can maintain highly networked connectivity and reach-back to data and command centers. But China’s People’s Liberation Army’s “informationized” warfighting strategy is specifically designed to counter the networked U.S. approach. Disaggregated ...
ACE Gets Real How USAF is evolving Agile Combat Employment informed by insights from Ukraine and Israel. By David Roza As the head of U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Africa and NATO Allied Air Command, Gen. James B. Hecker...
While U.S. defense officials have spent much of the past decade warning that China is the nation’s pacing threat and its People’s Liberation Army represents an urgent threat in the Indo-Pacific, several defense researchers are skeptical that the PLA has the human capital, the structural ...
The People’s Republic of China has improved its ability to project power globally despite corruption purges and a shrinking economy, the Pentagon’s annual report card on the Chinese military says. That includes a growing nuclear arsenal that added 100 new warheads in the last year.
The Air Force's top officer said China's new stealth fighter has one distinctive feature: It appears to draw its inspiration from the U.S.’s F-35. “It’s still fairly new,” Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David W. Allvin said in a Nov. 19 interview with Air ...
The Air Force’s capability to carry out long-range strikes can play an important role in defending Taiwan against a Chinese attack but must be carefully managed to reduce the risk of triggering a nuclear conflict, according to a new study by the RAND Corporation.
A nation that budgets more than $840 billion for national defense has reason to believe it is well-insured. But circumstances change. What was good enough before may not be good enough for long.
The U.S. Air Force’s focus in the Pacific has increased steadily over the past five years, as China has continued to modernize and expand its military capabilities with the goal of being able to seize Taiwan as soon as 2027. Gen. Kevin B. Schneider took ...
Small satellites lend themselves to many more applications than simply low-Earth orbit resilience. Russian and Chinese offensive spacepower ambitions are making headlines and are intent on erasing the vital advantage the United States has in space. U.S. defense leadership now...
Front-line air bases are like any other weapon system: They are only effective if they can function under enemy fire. Air bases at forward locations in the Indo-Pacific, Europe, or other theaters must be able to fend off complex integrated air and missile strikes, rapidly ...
When China’s air force and coast guard engaged recently in apparently provocative actions in the East and South China Seas, most Western media framed the events as evidence of Beijing’s aggressive and potentially destabilizing behavior. While aggressive is often an apt term for People’s Liberation ...
