US Air Force chief of staff to VOA: “We have to change”

The US Air Force chief of staff warns that the military must “change” if it wants to stay ahead of China and Russia.

“Our adversaries have continued to advance their capabilities at the same time that we’ve been using some of the same capabilities that we’ve been using for the last 30 years,” Gen. CQ Brown Jr. said this week. voice of america in an exclusive interview.

“The threat we were facing is not the one we will see in the future,” he said. “And so we have to change.”

A change in the Air Force will be front and center next month, when the United States unveils its new B-21 stealth bomber on December 2. The B-21 will replace the Air Force’s B-1 and B-2 bombers, which have been around since the 1980s.

For privacy reasons, Brown did not provide Air Force aircraft availability indices, which give leadership a better idea of ​​which planes would be available to them in a crisis.

“One thing I will say is that this is why I’m going to retrofit, because we have some aircraft that, from a maintenance standpoint, are a little bit more difficult, more difficult to maintain. [con] the dwindling resources for parts,” Brown said. “And that’s the aspect of being able to modernize — that’s how we increase the availability of aircraft and make sure we have a ready force.”

Russia described as “serious threat

The Biden administration released its national defense strategy this year calling Russia, which launched a war in February after invading neighboring Ukraine, a “serious threat.”

China is America’s “pace challenger” and biggest threat to national security, according to the unclassified document released last month.

China has more active duty military personnel than the United States and has been improving its weaponry for decades. In recent years, the Chinese military has built new aircraft carriers, new fighter jets, and a huge arsenal of missiles.

Melanie Sisson, a defense analyst at the Brookings Institution, says it’s “fair” to acknowledge the progress of potential adversaries like China, “but that fact alone shouldn’t induce any panic in the United States.”

“We are still relatively very, very capable; the best military force in the world,” he told the VOA.

I keep seeing the “advance” of China

China spent about $250 billion on its military in fiscal 2022; The United States spent almost eight times that amount.

Army veteran and defense analyst Bradley Bowman says overall military supremacy doesn’t guarantee victory. He notes that China has “methodically and deliberately” opted for modernizations specifically designed to beat the United States in East Asia, the most likely battle if war over Taiwan breaks out.

And that could make US ports and military bases in the region vulnerable to Chinese attacks.

“The Chinese have developed capabilities that are just as good, and in some cases better than ours,” Bowman told the VOA. “America’s military advantage in the Pacific has been absolutely undermined, and I keep seeing China sprint, while it often looks like we in Washington are numb.”

US officials say China wants the ability to invade and hold Taiwan by 2027, and China has said it aims to be a world-class military capable of “fighting and winning wars” by 2049. China views Taiwan as a rogue province. .

Brown said he has seen Russian and Chinese efforts to expand their influence outside the European and Indo-Pacific arenas, as well as the Middle East and Africa.

“I was there when the Russians went into Syria, and they’re still there. You’ve also seen incursions from the PRC (People’s Republic of China) with their base in Djibouti,” said Brown, who was commander of the Air Force Central Command in United States between 2015 and 2016.

Maintaining strong relationships is vital

As the US military has shifted its resources away from the Middle East to focus on China and Russia, Brown told the VOA that it will be key to maintain a strong relationship with allies in the region and take advantage of the growing capabilities of the United States, such as space-based systems.

In order to meet with his partners and spend time with US airmen, he plans to visit allies Jordan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Last month, Brown visited allies in Ecuador, Peru and Colombia, where he discussed each country’s military modernization efforts.

In Colombia, the delivery by the United States of more C-130 transport planes stood out.

Even in the Western Hemisphere, China and Russia are seeking to gain influence in places ranging from Venezuela, which has no formal ties to the United States, to main non-NATO ally Argentina, where Buenos Aires is looking to spend hundreds of millions on new fighter planes

A senior retired military official told the VOA that Argentina wants US-made fighter jets, but any deal could run into trouble if Britain tries to block it. Britain, which makes some components of the F-16, has maintained an arms embargo on Argentina since the 1982 Falklands War.

The official expressed concern that the British embargo could induce Argentina to turn to China for its defense needs.

When asked about the issue, Brown told the VOA that the United States “was going to pay attention to it.”

“My real goal is to ensure that we remain interoperable to the best of our ability with our partners and that they understand that the United States and the United States Air Force are committed to working very closely with them,” he concluded.

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