The deputy chief of staff for strategy, integration and requirements, Lt. Gen. S. Clinton Hinote has revealed that China is fast approaching America in its superpower prowess.
According to Hinote, the threat against America is ever present as China keeps developing sophisticated weaponry and arsenal to combat its enemies in combat.
He made his submission in a chat with reporters at the start of the Air Force Association’s Air, Space & Cyber Conference on Sept. 20.
He added that the Department needs to modernize its forces now, divest equipment that won’t stand up in a high-end fight, or face the reality that defeat is inevitable.
He said: “As somebody who is cognizant of the evidence at all classification levels, cognizant of what’s going on in our exercises … or training, I believe the light is blinking red,”
“Why? Because it used to be that when we did future war games, we were having trouble when we set the war game five, 10, 15 years out into the future. … It used to be a future problem. But what has changed since the last time we sat in this building two years ago, is that it’s not a future problem. … It is a current problem.”
“The day after the last C-17 left Kabul, I was in the Indo-Pacific where a graver threat is manifesting; where the risk and stakes are high,”
“We must move with a sense of urgency today in order to rise to the challenges of tomorrow, because the return to strategic competition is one of our nation’s greatest challenges. Strategic competition may not be as stark or obvious as a 9/11-like event, but it can be just as catastrophic. We cannot wait for a catastrophic crisis, whether it be sudden or insidious, to drive change for the Air Force and the joint force. If we do, it will be too late.”
“I am very concerned about the direction of our force,”
