China is focused on revamping its own air force so that it could challenge the U.S. Air Force and defeat the U.S. “without actually fighting,” according to a report.
A study conducted by the Project Air Force team at the Rand Corporation claims the Chinese air force’s goal is to advance their military air power such that it would crush the U.S. if the forces went head-to-head. This could be accomplished by emulating the United States’ military capabilities and through their own innovation.
“The main driver for Chinese military aerospace power development is the [People’s Liberations Army’s] view that it needs to be prepared to deter and, if necessary, defeat the United States in a high-end clash,” the report said.
Additionally, the report noted that the People’s Liberation Army is striving to develop their military aerospace sector to the point where the Chinese could defeat the U.S. without “actually fighting.”
“It is important to recognize that many of the PLA efforts in the military aerospace sector focus on fielding of specific capabilities in sufficient quantities to deter the United States from entering a conflict; the PLA would vastly prefer deterrence over actual combat operations,” the report said. “In this sense, the capabilities competition can be regarded as aimed at defeating the United States without actually fighting.”
The Chinese military has already imitated the U.S. Air Force in several ways. For example, the report pointed out that the Chinese J-20 and J-31 stealth fighter jets resemble the U.S. Air Force’s F-22 and F-35 stealth fighters. Although copying the U.S. tends to be the “preferred approach whenever available,” China’s missile and space programs tend to introduce their own changes.
The report recommended the U.S. military “to identify possible or probable vectors along which the PLA is likely to target U.S. interests in any armed clash.”
“Such knowledge is also useful during times of peace to prevent military-to-military contact that might unwittingly help the PLA further advance its capabilities,” the report said.
Although U.S. Air Force leaders received the report last year, the report became available to the public this month.
In August, the Chinese Defense Ministry issued a statement urging Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to “stop releasing” reports related to China’s military. The statement came after the Defense Department issued a report detailing how China’s bomber capabilities had advanced and that the Chinese were holding exercises that were “likely training for strikes.”
The People’s Liberation Army is composed of five branches, including The People’s Liberation Army Air Force.
