Which country has the largest air force?

[N8Magic]

http://www.rand.org/publications/RB/RB32.html

The bottom line, according to Kenneth W. Allen, Glenn Krumel, and Jonathan D. Pollack in China's Air Force Enters the 21st Century, is that, even though it has the world's third-largest air arm, China is nowhere close to being able to project military power globally through the PLAAF.

 

[Schadenfreude]

Originally posted by: iwearnosox
Some of our air power is so advanced it's disturbing. 747's with frikin lasers that shoot missiles down, helicopters that share data, track and destroy 100 targets by barely peeping over a treeline.

I'd fear us if I were them.

:Q

[Dr. Evil] 747s' with freakin' lasers on their heads! [/Dr. Evil]

 

[Mookow]

Originally posted by: BigJelly
China does have the largest:Q, but most are obsolite😀. Our planes can target up to 8 aircraft 100 miles away simitaniouly😎, if US every had a air war with china our loses would be small if any. But their power is in their army--i wonder if we have enough bullets for them

To preface this post, let me just say that any major conflict between the USA and China would be messy.

That said, once we control the skies, its not a question of bullets alone... bombs, rockets, etc would also be used. Massing troops would be messy for China's Army, based upon the fact that we can combine the concepts of "Carpet Bombing" and "squadrons of B-52s".

 

[ManSnake]

Originally posted by: Mookow

Originally posted by: BigJelly
China does have the largest:Q, but most are obsolite😀. Our planes can target up to 8 aircraft 100 miles away simitaniouly😎, if US every had a air war with china our loses would be small if any. But their power is in their army--i wonder if we have enough bullets for them

To preface this post, let me just say that any major conflict between the USA and China would be messy.

That said, once we control the skies, its not a question of bullets alone... bombs, rockets, etc would also be used. Massing troops would be messy for China's Army, based upon the fact that we can combine the concepts of "Carpet Bombing" and "squadrons of B-52s".

Until their 20+ ICBMs lauch towards the US mainland.

 

[LongCoolMother]

Originally posted by: Mookow

Originally posted by: BigJelly
China does have the largest:Q, but most are obsolite😀. Our planes can target up to 8 aircraft 100 miles away simitaniouly😎, if US every had a air war with china our loses would be small if any. But their power is in their army--i wonder if we have enough bullets for them

To preface this post, let me just say that any major conflict between the USA and China would be messy.

That said, once we control the skies, its not a question of bullets alone... bombs, rockets, etc would also be used. Massing troops would be messy for China's Army, based upon the fact that we can combine the concepts of "Carpet Bombing" and "squadrons of B-52s".

then nukes will come 😀 and wed both be dead.

 

[iwearnosox]

Originally posted by: charrison

Originally posted by: iwearnosox

Originally posted by: charrison

Originally posted by: iwearnosox
Some of our air power is so advanced it's disturbing. 747's with frikin lasers that shoot missiles down, helicopters that share data, track and destroy 100 targets by barely peeping over a treeline.

I'd fear us if I were them.

Even our tanks share data now 🙂

I'm really over fascinated by that new tank they're going to roll out soon. It shoots 8 shells and can program itself so they all land at the target at the same time.

We really outdo ourself in the creative killing department, I must admit.

That project got killed. Too expensive and too heavy. I was referring to the m1 abrams tanks now having a digital console 🙂

All new M1 abrams are now equipped with amazing new gamecube? techonlogy!

What was the name of that tank that could shoot 8 shells like that?

 

[Mookow]

Originally posted by: ManSnake

Originally posted by: Mookow

Originally posted by: BigJelly
China does have the largest:Q, but most are obsolite😀. Our planes can target up to 8 aircraft 100 miles away simitaniouly😎, if US every had a air war with china our loses would be small if any. But their power is in their army--i wonder if we have enough bullets for them

To preface this post, let me just say that any major conflict between the USA and China would be messy.

That said, once we control the skies, its not a question of bullets alone... bombs, rockets, etc would also be used. Massing troops would be messy for China's Army, based upon the fact that we can combine the concepts of "Carpet Bombing" and "squadrons of B-52s".

Until their 20+ ICBMs lauch towards the US mainland.

The chinese know that they arent going to win a nuclear war (not that anyone is going to come out a non-pyrrhic winner in a nuclear exchange). AFAIK, they dont have the nuclear capability to wipe the USA completely off the map. We could do that to China. I think as long as we weren't invading China that they wouldnt use nukes.

Three letters for you: MAD

 

[Mookow]

Originally posted by: iwearnosox

Originally posted by: charrison

Originally posted by: iwearnosox

Originally posted by: charrison

Originally posted by: iwearnosox
Some of our air power is so advanced it's disturbing. 747's with frikin lasers that shoot missiles down, helicopters that share data, track and destroy 100 targets by barely peeping over a treeline.

I'd fear us if I were them.

Even our tanks share data now 🙂

I'm really over fascinated by that new tank they're going to roll out soon. It shoots 8 shells and can program itself so they all land at the target at the same time.

We really outdo ourself in the creative killing department, I must admit.

That project got killed. Too expensive and too heavy. I was referring to the m1 abrams tanks now having a digital console 🙂

All new M1 abrams are now equipped with amazing new gamecube? techonlogy!

What was the name of that tank that could shoot 8 shells like that?

I dont think it was a tank, but rather a self-propelled artillery unit

 

[charrison]

Originally posted by: iwearnosox

Originally posted by: charrison

Originally posted by: iwearnosox

Originally posted by: charrison

Originally posted by: iwearnosox
Some of our air power is so advanced it's disturbing. 747's with frikin lasers that shoot missiles down, helicopters that share data, track and destroy 100 targets by barely peeping over a treeline.

I'd fear us if I were them.

Even our tanks share data now 🙂

I'm really over fascinated by that new tank they're going to roll out soon. It shoots 8 shells and can program itself so they all land at the target at the same time.

We really outdo ourself in the creative killing department, I must admit.

That project got killed. Too expensive and too heavy. I was referring to the m1 abrams tanks now having a digital console 🙂

All new M1 abrams are now equipped with amazing new gamecube? techonlogy!

What was the name of that tank that could shoot 8 shells like that?

The crusader.

 

[fatbaby]

Originally posted by: Mookow

Originally posted by: iwearnosox

Originally posted by: charrison

Originally posted by: iwearnosox

Originally posted by: charrison

Originally posted by: iwearnosox
Some of our air power is so advanced it's disturbing. 747's with frikin lasers that shoot missiles down, helicopters that share data, track and destroy 100 targets by barely peeping over a treeline.

I'd fear us if I were them.

Even our tanks share data now 🙂

I'm really over fascinated by that new tank they're going to roll out soon. It shoots 8 shells and can program itself so they all land at the target at the same time.

We really outdo ourself in the creative killing department, I must admit.

That project got killed. Too expensive and too heavy. I was referring to the m1 abrams tanks now having a digital console 🙂

All new M1 abrams are now equipped with amazing new gamecube? techonlogy!

What was the name of that tank that could shoot 8 shells like that?

I dont think it was a tank, but rather a self-propelled artillery unit

t3h crusader

 

[olds]

Part of it depends on how you count it. During the Cold War, which was before most of you were out of pampers, Russia claimed to have the largest number of aircraft/tanks/apc, etc. We believed it for a time. Then we found out that ya, they had 100,000 tanks but only 40,000 of them ran. They also trained their military differently than ours. They would only teach officers to read maps. They were worried about defection. They also only taught "drivers" how to drive and "gunners" how to gun. If the officer was killed they had problems reading a map. In the US Army different members can do different jobs. In the Army's Combat Arms branch, if you can't read a map you become a civilian. AFAIK, China has the largest ground force. But what good is a pitchfork against conventional weapons?

 

[freakflag]

Until their 20+ ICBMs lauch towards the US mainland.

You do know that they successfully shot down an artillery shell in mid flight with one of those lasers, right?

I'm thinkin' those nukes aren't quite the threat that they once were. They have to fly halfway around the world to get to us...we might be able to get a bead on them.

Oh yeah, I read somewhere (USA Today maybe?) that Isreal actually has an Air Force comparable in every way to our own. If I remember correctly, the article actually said that as combat aircraft, they are actually better than our own. Due to the fact that they have been in a constant state of combat for 30 years and have been extensively field modified.

 

[charrison]

Originally posted by: freakflag

Until their 20+ ICBMs lauch towards the US mainland.

You do know that they successfully shot down an artillery shell in mid flight with one of those lasers, right?

I'm thinkin' those nukes aren't quite the threat that they once were. They have to fly halfway around the world to get to us...we might be able to get a bead on them.

Oh yeah, I read somewhere (USA Today maybe?) that Isreal actually has an Air Force comparable in every way to our own. If I remember correctly, the article actually said that as combat aircraft, they are actually better than our own. Due to the fact that they have been in a constant state of combat for 30 years and have been extensively field modified.

Yes and no. They do have very good avionics, but they still lack inflight refueling.

 

[olds]

Originally posted by: fatbaby
I dont think it was a tank, but rather a self-propelled artillery unit

t3h crusader[/quote]
That is correct. The look simular but have different functions.

 

[LongCoolMother]

Originally posted by: charrison

Originally posted by: freakflag

Until their 20+ ICBMs lauch towards the US mainland.

You do know that they successfully shot down an artillery shell in mid flight with one of those lasers, right?

I'm thinkin' those nukes aren't quite the threat that they once were. They have to fly halfway around the world to get to us...we might be able to get a bead on them.

Oh yeah, I read somewhere (USA Today maybe?) that Isreal actually has an Air Force comparable in every way to our own. If I remember correctly, the article actually said that as combat aircraft, they are actually better than our own. Due to the fact that they have been in a constant state of combat for 30 years and have been extensively field modified.

Yes and no. They do have very good avionics, but they still lack inflight refueling.

so they arent super good, but they arent super stupid?

 

[Mookow]

Originally posted by: Jmman
I hear people talk about how big and tough China's military is, but we would smoke those guys in a military conflict. The only thing they have going for them is the 400 nukes.....🙁




Of course we have something like 12,000 nukes, but that's beside the point.....

Ever hear something like "Don't get involved in a war on the Asian landmass"? China might not have a overly competent armed forces, but as the joke went in NATO during the Cold War "We might have better quality compared to the Russian's quantity, but quantity has a quality all its own". We wouldn't "smoke" China. If the USA got into a full scale war (rescricted only in that neither side could use any weapons of mass destruction) with China, it would be a draw favoring the USA. China couldn't invade the USA. Given their current navy, their ships would all hit the beaches... if you call the seafloor of the Pacific a "beach". The USA couldnt fully invade China with politically acceptable losses. However, we could project quite a bit of power into China, ie fsck up a lot of their stuff.

 

[iwearnosox]

Originally posted by: fatbaby

Originally posted by: Mookow

Originally posted by: iwearnosox

Originally posted by: charrison

Originally posted by: iwearnosox

Originally posted by: charrison

Originally posted by: iwearnosox
Some of our air power is so advanced it's disturbing. 747's with frikin lasers that shoot missiles down, helicopters that share data, track and destroy 100 targets by barely peeping over a treeline.

I'd fear us if I were them.

Even our tanks share data now 🙂

I'm really over fascinated by that new tank they're going to roll out soon. It shoots 8 shells and can program itself so they all land at the target at the same time.

We really outdo ourself in the creative killing department, I must admit.

That project got killed. Too expensive and too heavy. I was referring to the m1 abrams tanks now having a digital console 🙂

All new M1 abrams are now equipped with amazing new gamecube? techonlogy!

What was the name of that tank that could shoot 8 shells like that?

I dont think it was a tank, but rather a self-propelled artillery unit

t3h crusader

Damn. I thought that was a great idea. If anything we could haved leased them back to INS for their new Rapid Immigrant Return System. You could deport a family of 8 and get them all back at the same time.

 

[Ciber]

Originally posted by: iwearnosox

Originally posted by: fatbaby

Originally posted by: Mookow

Originally posted by: iwearnosox

Originally posted by: charrison

Originally posted by: iwearnosox

Originally posted by: charrison

Originally posted by: iwearnosox
Some of our air power is so advanced it's disturbing. 747's with frikin lasers that shoot missiles down, helicopters that share data, track and destroy 100 targets by barely peeping over a treeline.

I'd fear us if I were them.

Even our tanks share data now 🙂

I'm really over fascinated by that new tank they're going to roll out soon. It shoots 8 shells and can program itself so they all land at the target at the same time.

We really outdo ourself in the creative killing department, I must admit.

That project got killed. Too expensive and too heavy. I was referring to the m1 abrams tanks now having a digital console 🙂

All new M1 abrams are now equipped with amazing new gamecube? techonlogy!

What was the name of that tank that could shoot 8 shells like that?

I dont think it was a tank, but rather a self-propelled artillery unit

t3h crusader

Damn. I thought that was a great idea. If anything we could haved leased them back to INS for their new Rapid Immigrant Return System. You could deport a family of 8 and get them all back at the same time.

ROFL!

 

[iwearnosox]

Originally posted by: LongCoolMother

Originally posted by: charrison

Originally posted by: freakflag

Until their 20+ ICBMs lauch towards the US mainland.

You do know that they successfully shot down an artillery shell in mid flight with one of those lasers, right?

I'm thinkin' those nukes aren't quite the threat that they once were. They have to fly halfway around the world to get to us...we might be able to get a bead on them.

Oh yeah, I read somewhere (USA Today maybe?) that Isreal actually has an Air Force comparable in every way to our own. If I remember correctly, the article actually said that as combat aircraft, they are actually better than our own. Due to the fact that they have been in a constant state of combat for 30 years and have been extensively field modified.

Yes and no. They do have very good avionics, but they still lack inflight refueling.

so they arent super good, but they arent super stupid?

They're awesome right up until they land at an exxon. Then they're sitting ducks.

 

[Jmman]

I have done quite a bit of research on China's military capabilities, and most research reports I have seen show that they are far weaker than most people think........here is a pretty good article on their capabilities.....Text



Don't take me the wrong way. A war with China would not be a good thing no matter what the outcome.....😛

I like this little blurb.....
"As Congressman Barney Frank has sardonically observed, China did recently acquire its first aircraft carrier. But it then immediately anchored it in Macao and transformed it into a recreation center. So much for the next great hegemon's efforts to launch a blue-water fleet by the turn of the century."

 

[Alistar7]

China doesn't even have the boat or airlift capability to re-enact our landing at normandy, that should tell you how far advanced we are. As for the Canadians, lol, I remember reading that when the Mall of America opened it had MORE submarines than the ENTIRE Canadian fleet, 4 to their 3....

 

[JYDog]

Canada 😀

No, isn't an airforce a pretty useless asset anyways, when you're talking war with like russia or china with WMD?

 

[crypticlogin]

I wonder how the prevaling winds would blow if China's visible air power was just to keep suspicion away from (say) their secret development programs. Instead of just some aging MiGs, they've been amassing some airframes, avionics, and delivery systems comparable (or at least, competetive) to that of the U.S. Wouldn't *that* be scary?

 

[PsychoAndy]

What does Israel need in-flight refueling for? The country is the size of a postage stamp, and the IAF doesn't need to assert power over long ranges. If anything, they'd probably run out of missles and bullets before they'd need to refuel.

 

[dahunan]

http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/asiapcf/9905/28/china.military/


Report is almost 4 years old... but...
How does China stack up to the U.S.?
The United States is widely regarded as the world's sole military superpower. But many experts expect China to challenge that status on the military front by early next century. Still Western analysts see little reason to fear from China's military:


Its 2.8 million-person army is the world's largest but is poorly trained and equipped.


Its 8,500 tanks are slow, small and out-of-date.


The 4,000 fighter planes in the Chinese air force are mostly from the 1960s and 1970s and lack modern avionics.


Its navy's 61 submarines and 54 surface ships are capable of little more than coastal patrols.