A recent report by the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace studies published a devastating conclusion for the United States. The research concluded that “should a military conflict with China erupt, the Chinese Military’s Air Force capabilities and deterrence are capable enough to inflict severe damage on U.S. forces.”

The publication provides details from experts familiar with the United States Air Force’s capabilities which “outlined the decline in relative spending for the military branch and the decreasing number and increasing age of the tactical aircraft fleet, along with the lack of modernization and new aircraft.”

The U.S. Air Force (USAF) lacks the ability to “fight a peer conflict, deter elsewhere, and defend the homeland as required by the National Defense Strategy,” according to retired Air Force Lieutenant General David A. Deptula and former Air Force Colonel Mark Gunzinger.

 Foreign Desk News writes:

One of the most significant reasons for this is the decline in combat power and morale in the Air Force is apparent in flying hours, overall readiness, force mentality, and esprit de corps. In the last year alone, flying hours across all aircraft in the Air Force averaged 10.1 hours per month, whereas, in the 1990s, Air Force pilots averaged around 29 flights per month.

In the past, pilots in the USAF could cite their experience and training as a competitive advantage over large numbers of technologically advanced aircraft fielded by America’s enemies. In 2013 however, pilots could no longer boast of their training, experience, or aircraft advancements. The same year, USAF officials noted that training hours for pilots dropped to the level once occupied by Soviet pilots during the Cold War, with American pilots having fewer hours than Chinese, Indian, or European pilots.

In the years after 2013, the USAF was short 2,000 pilots and has been unable to attract, produce, and hold enough people to fill cockpits. Additionally, the paper points out that the lack of modern equipment for the USAF has been another significant problem for the military branch.

According to Deptula and Gunzinger, past budgets from the American government have divested thousands of aircrafts rather than buying new ones, “providing the Air Force with a smaller, older, and less ready force in the near term.”

Today, the Air Force stands at 2,176 aircrafts compared with a fleet operated by China’s Air Force and its Naval Air Force of around 1,700 combat aircrafts.

Foreign Desk News continues:

Since President Biden took office, the U.S. military and its branches have faced a significant decline in military equipment and recruitment. Some of the reasons for this have been the aftereffects of the COVID-19 lockdowns, increased obesity rates among young Americans, increased criminal and drug records among young Americans, a lack of patriotism, and growing anti-American sentiments. The President and members of Congress have primarily focused on domestic spending issues rather than military spending, leading many experts to question the President and Congress’s priorities.

Americans interested in joining the USAF and other branches of the armed forces have deferred from enlistment, citing the number of ways that the Armed Services have become woke in their policies and standards for soldiers, pilots, and naval personnel.