Fri, Oct 05, 2007
General: They've Been Building "An Almost Impenetrable Air
Defense System"
While the US military,
the government and media have been focused on our warfighting
efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, China has been quietly building an
air defense that one top general says can't be penetrated by
anything but our most advanced new fighters.
Worse, Lt. General Bruce Wright, who commands about 50,000 US
troops stationed in Japan, says the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
are putting a heavy drain on manpower and equipment needed to meet
"contingencies" in East Asia.
As the US has been otherwise distracted, Wright tells the
Associated Press that the Chinese have bolstered their air defense
capabilities with the latest Russian-made Sukhoi SU-27 "Flankers"
and homegrown F-10s (right), a rough equivalent in performance to
the American stalwart F-16. ANN has been tracking development of the F-10
since 2002.
"Are we in trouble? It depends on the scenario," Wright said
Thursday, quoted by Military.Com. "But you have to be concerned
about the small number of our forces and the age of our
forces."
For instance, he says, the average USAF F-15 is about 24 years
old. And of course, the KC-135, vital to any long range mission, is
older than most of the people who fly it.
"Our planes are much older than the planes they would be matched
against," said Wright. "For the first time in history, we are
seeing another nation, in this case China, with newer fighters than
we have. We know that they continue to invest at a level that is
unprecedented. We need to be watchful of Chinese military
capabilities."
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