Comments by "David Ford" (@davidford3115) on "US Air Force is losing its tech edge (over China)" video.

I tend to agree. China has decided that they know they cannot surpass the US's technological edge. So, they will try to reach a certain threshold where numbers can make up for the deficiencies in technological edge.
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Numbers can defeat technological edge. The F-35 is what the F-4 Phantom was in Vietnam: master of none, sucks at everything. With only 6 rails on a stealth fighter, they cannot compete against 4th generation with 20 hard points. Hell, there was a Red Flag exercise where an F-16 killed several F-35s revealing to the Pentagon that they made the very same blinders that were made with the F-4 Phantom (why do you think Red Flag is even held?).
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Let us hope so, because the J-16 was purposely designed to be a 4th generation hunter of 5th generation F-22 Raptors. They planned on using numbers to defeat the American technological advantage.
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@FeatheredDino MiG-29 has the worst record of all? Apparently, you are not familiar with how it is SUPPOSED to be used (which the Russians are terrible at). In engagements of less than 5km separation, the MiG-29 is VASTLY superior in terms of maneuverability and targeting. The problem is that it does NOT have the staying power nor stand-off capabilities of the F-15. Most Western fighters are predicated on the doctrine of distance fighting, not dogfighting at close range. The whole reason for the Red Flag exercises is to prevent the atrophy of those skills which would otherwise be ignored because of Western Chauvinism towards close aerial combat. Vietnam's air campaign highlighted that critical weakness in Western Air doctrine.
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@daivdsmith3746 We are only able to say that because the Russian Air Force turned out to be a joke. Before the War in Ukraine, NOBODY discounted post-Soviet equipment from the Communist world.
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@elmohead Forgotten the Chinese invasion of Vietnam in the 1980s? China is not the peaceful country to pretend it is.
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The American populace who is paying attention is not buying the bravado and pompousness of either Congress or the panty waste generals in the Pentagon. For years folks who follow geopolitical issues have warned about American Air supremacy being eroded by foolish decisions such as Robert Gates cutting the F-22 raptor fleet to HALF of what the USAF at the time said it needed to maintain dominance. But the generals and Admirals who followed the likes of Norton Swartz cared more about getting promotion than doing their actual job.
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Simple. The Taliban and Al Qaeda had NO air support. No air cover. No Air Force, PERIOD. Don't conflate the ground battle incompetence with the air campaign. The A-10 warthogs were the ones getting the confirmed kills.
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@Jkim890 I tend to agree. What China has that Russia does not is sheer number of bodies they can throw into the fight. Much like Wagner did in Bakhmut, or the People's Liberation Army did in 1951, they can mass force in such volume that the west runs out of bullets before they run out of bodies. And yes, the PLAAF can also do that, even with cheap, less than competitive 3rd Generation fighters.
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@Jkim890 PS, I had the privilege of being Stationed at Osan AB, Korea and had a blast visiting numerous historic sites. Protecting the history and culture gave me a reason to fight for the Korean people. My favorite city was actually Suwon followed by Suncheon because they were NOT as cosmopolitan as Pusan or Seoul. Those cities retained an authentic Korean character that is diluted in more touristy places like Pusan.
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@DarthArtokV Yeah, those advantages you speak of are what the US enjoyed in Vietnam. Yet the reason for Red Flag is because those advantages of distance and stealth didn't help when inferior NVA MiGs would ambush them. A capable adversary knowing those strengths employs tactics to defeat those technological advantages. Case in point: the Ukrainian Air campaign has NOT gone the way the West expected it to, further driving home the importance of the Red Flag Exercises.
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