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siegecrossbow said:

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Pointing to a projection of the B-21 Raider, he said, “This is one of the many, many things that you are working on right here that will change Chairman Xi’s calculus about our readiness.”

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“…I hope Chairman Xi … he’s got people that translate, and so I want him to know that the men and women of Edwards Air Force Base are doing their war-time mission right now. They are accelerating Test. They are delivering integrated capability to the warfighter.”

And then gesturing over his shoulder to a similar image of the Raider, he said, “Today is not the day to start World War III, because we have this.”

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tygyg1111 said:

Xi's translator: "You have 'this'? Lol"

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siegecrossbow said:

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SunlitZelkova said:

It's a symptom of American pride. Pride is fun to feel but if it isn't coupled with realistic assessment of the situation, it can turn deadly.

That said, I'd argue it's excusable for this particular official's statement. He is a wing commander, his job is to raise morale among his subordinates. I'm sure PLAAF regimental commanders said similar things to their troops in the 2000s; when the F-22 was in mass production they surely spoke highly of the J-10 and its role as an asset for defending China despite the technological gap.

Unfortunately, I'd say his political calculus (whether war will occur =/= hypothetical performance in a war) is poor and indicative of wider American, and more generally *anywhere outside China* understanding of the Taiwan issue. This is a civil war. Taiwan and China are more like South Vietnam and North Vietnam (also civil conflict), but the US seems to portray it as Kuwait and Iraq (international conflict).

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SlothmanAllen said:

One potential benefit I see of the Air Force divesting these legacy manned 4th gen platforms in a short time frame is that you could potentially turn the recently retired F-16 C/D into loyal wingman drones. The F-16 C/D would be very capable in that role and should only require minor software and hardware changes to become loyal wingman once that technology is available. I believe many of the existing F-16 have AESA radars and support for numerous weapons and targeting pods. On top of that, the age of the airframe will be less relevant since a loyal wingman doesn't need to maintain any flight hours for proficiency outside of a small number of test aircraft.

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SunlitZelkova said:

That said, I'd argue it's excusable for this particular official's statement. He is a wing commander, his job is to raise morale among his subordinates. I'm sure PLAAF regimental commanders said similar things to their troops in the 2000s; when the F-22 was in mass production they surely spoke highly of the J-10 and its role as an asset for defending China despite the technological gap.

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