The latest national defense White Paper from China sets a three-step course on the road to modernization, culminating in the middle of the century with “building informationalized armed forces and being capably of winning informationalized wars.” The paper states that China “will not engage in any arms race or pose a military threat to any other country.” China also maintains that its defense expenditures, as a share of its Gross Domestic Product, are far less than that of other major countries. Of course, Western defense analysts believe that China regularly understates its defense expenditures, and the latest Pentagon report indicated China’s aim is extending beyond its borders.
When an E-3 Sentry battle management aircraft was damaged in an Iranian attack on Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, it sparked a host of questions about one of the Air Force’s oldest, smallest, but most critical fleets. Experts say the service doesn’t have many options to answer those questions.