US General admits Russian and Chinese Air Force predominance

The US General warns over Russian and Chinese predominance of military power.

Mark Welsh, head of the US Air Force is especially concerned with the increasing air power.

"China and Russia are two good examples of countries who will be fielding capability in the next three to five years; if they stay on track, that is better than what we currently have in many areas," Welsh said.

"Fighter aircraft in the next three to five years that have more capability than what we currently have sitting on the ramp. The F-35 will stay a generation ahead of them. F-22 will, too. Everything else we have will not stay ahead. The gap has closed."

Also read: China Developing Military Aviation

And this is while the US spends nearly three times as much as China and its military budget is more than seven times as much as Russia.

Welsh also said that dozens of countries around the world would use Russian and Chinese top-end fighters in the future.

A Chinese state-owned newspaper warned Monday a war between the two superpowers is "inevitable" unless Washington stops demanding Beijing halt its construction projects.

The US continue to accuse China of undergoing a massive "land reclamation" program in the Spratly archipelago of the South China Sea, and says China's territorial claims of the man-made islands could further militarize the region.

Read article in Russian on the Russian version of Pravda.Ru

Also read: US to build up military presence in South China Sea