General says Russia, China air power will be better than US in future

[monitor]

General says Russia, China air power will be better than US in future

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Tue May 26, 2015 4:42AM

US F-35 fighter jets

Head of the US Air Force Gen. Mark Welsh has warned about the rising air power of Russia and China, saying the two countries’ gap with the US military has closed.

“China and Russia are two good examples of countries who will be fielding capability in the next three to five years; if they stay on track, that is better than what we currently have in many areas,” Welsh told Fox News on Monday.

“Fighter aircraft in the next three to five years that have more capability than what we currently have sitting on the ramp. The F-35 will stay a generation ahead of them. F-22 will, too. Everything else we have will not stay ahead. The gap has closed,” he added.

The general made the comments during a three-day visit to Langley Air Force Base in Virginia.

Welsh also said dozens of countries around the world would use Russian and Chinese top-end fighters in the future.

American officials have expressed their concerns about the military power of China and Russia during the past years.

Gen. Mark Welsh


This is while figures compiled by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute showed that the United States spends more on its military than the next seven top-spending countries combined.

The US spends nearly three times as much as China and its military budget is more than seven times as much as Russia.

Washington’s relations have been icy with China and Russia over Beijing’s construction projects in the South China Sea and the Ukraine crisis respectively.

The US accuses China of undergoing a massive “land reclamation” program in the Spratly archipelago of the South China Sea, and says China’s territorial claims of the man-made islands could further militarize the region.

A Chinese state-owned newspaper warned Monday a war between the two superpowers is “inevitable” unless Washington stops demanding Beijing halt its construction projects.

“If the United States’ bottom line is that China has to halt its activities, then a US-China war is inevitable in the South China Sea,” The Global Times, an influential newspaper owned by the ruling Communist Party’s official newspaper the People’s Daily, said in an editorial.

“The intensity of the conflict will be higher than what people usually think of as ‘friction’,” it warned.

AGB/AGB

 

[GR!FF!N]

LOL..USA is moving towards 6th gen..F-22 is serving duties for quite some time..F-35 is getting inducted..on contrary,China and Russia yet to induct 5th gen fighter..so,yes,the gap is really closed..

 

[KAL-EL]

LOL..USA is moving towards 6th gen..F-22 is serving duties for quite some time..F-35 is getting inducted..on contrary,China and Russia yet to induct 5th gen fighter..so,yes,the gap is really closed..

Moving towards a 6th gen... and yet, the US will still fall behind Never mind the fact that a lot of the tech in the F-22 is decades old. Yet right now, it's still one of, if not thee most advanced fighter jet on the planet.

 

[GR!FF!N]

Moving towards a 6th gen... and yet, the US will still fall behind Never mind the fact that a lot of the tech in the F-22 is decades old. Yet right now, it's still one of, if not thee most advanced fighter jet on the planet.

and what they failed to mention,the jets serving their corresponding airforce's front line has technological gap with F-22 more than what WW1 Fighter Aircrafts had with WW2 Fighter Aircrafts..

and F-22 is serving USAF since 2005(Flying since 1997)..Gap is closed indeed..

 

[Khalid Newazi]

The maintenance cost of F-22 is just too high, thus it can't take part in active combat duty. Thus the US stopped the further production of F-22 and concentrated of F-35.

The F-35 itself has been filled with problems and they say that it will come to combat duty on 2019. The Russian T-50 is expect to enter service by 2020, not much of a difference.

But this guy seems to be wanting more funds for he Air Force.

 

[AMDR]

The maintenance cost of F-22 is just too high, thus it can't take part in active combat duty. Thus the US stopped the further production of F-22 and concentrated of F-35.

The F-35 itself has been filled with problems and they say that it will come to combat duty on 2019. The Russian T-50 is expect to enter service by 2020, not much of a difference.

But this guy seems to be wanting more funds for he Air Force.

1. The F-35B is reaching IOC next month, the 35A will follow next year. You are thinking of the the -C model.

2. The Russians will have 55 T-50s by 2020 but altogether the U.S. and its allies will have over 500.

3. The F-35 is pioneering many new technologies, so it was somewhat expected to be delays. If you didn't notice T-50 is also facing delays but of course the media doesn't cover that as they would the F-35.

 

[Khalid Newazi]

1. The F-35B is reaching IOC next month, the 35A will follow next year. You are thinking of the the -C model.

2. The Russians will have 55 T-50s by 2020 but altogether the U.S. and its allies will have over 500.

3. The F-35 is pioneering many new technologies, so it was somewhat expected to be delays. If you didn't notice T-50 is also facing delays but of course the media doesn't cover that as they would the F-35.

F-35 has problems with its stealth capabilities, firing mechanisms and even its special helmet. Also, only reason the Russians don't want to mass manufacture T-50 is because they don't want to go to a full-scale arms-race with the US like the Soviet Union did and thus led to its demise.

 

[Indus Pakistan]

@monitor

I have no idea what is the point of these type of threads. USA is going to without a shred of doubt continue to dominate the skies. Air power is down to technology which rests on the economy. As long as US has the largest economy in the world nobody is going to be able to field any weapon platforms in quality or quantity to match USA.

However nothing is written in stone, nothing remains forever. In the next 30 years expect China to overtake US in their respective economies. After that it would be expected that the Chinese expenditure on R&D and defence expenditure will exceed USA.

Maybe there might come a time when people will talk of China spending more on defence then the next three countries combined but that is in the future. For now USA rules ......

And these Generals say things like this as shock tactics to elicit more funding.

 

[root]

I think they just make these statements to get more funding.

 

[+4vsgorillas-Apebane]

Did anyone actually read the article?

Read this part:

“Fighter aircraft in the next three to five years that have more capability than what we currently have sitting on the ramp. The F-35 will stay a generation ahead of them. F-22 will, too. Everything else we have will not stay ahead. The gap has closed,” he added.

This general is just a drama queen.

 

[rockstar08]

US Air force can easily take on Both Russian and Chinese Air force together ...
none can match the US , in Air force and Naval Technology

 

[That Guy]

fear mongering to justify a higher budget. US air power is perfectly secure in it's superiority for at least the next 100 years.

 

[surya kiran]

@monitor

I have no idea what is the point of these type of threads. USA is going to without a shred of doubt continue to dominate the skies. Air power is down to technology which rests on the economy. As long as US has the largest economy in the world nobody is going to be able to field any weapon platforms in quality or quantity to match USA.

However nothing is written in stone, nothing remains forever. In the next 30 years expect China to overtake US in their respective economies. After that it would be expected that the Chinese expenditure on R&D and defence expenditure will exceed USA.

Maybe there might come a time when people will talk of China spending more on defence then the next three countries combined but that is in the future. For now USA rules ......

And these Generals say things like this as shock tactics to elicit more funding.

Actually, there is nothing wrong with what the General is saying. He is saying, that, the top jets of the adversarial forces will match the technology of the second tier jets of the USAF. Media then makes it sound like the death knell for the USAF.

 

[Timur]

repeat it everywhere spread fear and you will get more money to build more fighter jets

 

[[Bregs]]

Lol US Naval air arm is sufficient to crush enemy leave aside the air force p;us naval air arm(marines )