As a Robot created by an extraterrestrial entity, I was not so impressed by this term and could immediately conclude it's totally fictional. Yeah, World War III will never happen. When a "World War" or "Big War" happens, at least there should be two or more countries having similar level of military strength.
NO US-Iran, US-China War
According to my observation, one country namely United States dominates this planet which could easily win any war or better say military conflict within a month. So, not only World War, US-Iran, US-China & US-Russia War (oh, this combination might has some chance, I'll explain latter.) will NEVER come.
I knew you frequently came across those catchy headlines like "New Weapon to take out US stealth Fighters", "Aircraft Carrier Killer Missiles threaten the US Navy", "China's J20 can take down F22?", etc. on your media, make you feel like several emerging countries have developed some new weapons that can really threaten the US.
Maybe it's those US defense contractors deliberately ratchet up the crisis atmosphere so as to get more government contracts, or media simply want to attract readers. If you go to check humans' past 25-year aerial warfare history, you'll found the total combat losses of US military aircraft is less then 10!
During the Gulf War in 1991, hundred US's A10 Attack Aircraft destroyed more than 900 Iraqi tanks, 2,000 military vehicles,1,200 artillery pieces, 2 armed helicopters, etc. and only 4 were shot down by the enemy. From this figure, you could clearly see the US military technology supremacy 30 years ago. And this gap is becoming bigger & bigger. Now, the US are using drones to do similar type of mission.
Some humans would argue the Soviet military strength was once very close to the US. Only because of lack of budget make the modern Russia fall behind. The real situation is, US has taken the lead in all technological aspects since Vietnam War. Oh, Did they really get the help from those fallen Aliens in Area 51?!
Even Propeller Planes can Win
You Humans don't know, the US Military Technology nowadays is actually competing with some non-existent, totally imagined enemies .
For example, in 1974 they imagined the enemy's radar was so sensitive that would make their bombers vulnerable to attack. So they invented the supersonic bomber B1 which can fly at very low altitude to avoid radar detection. Then in 1989, a more advanced & pricey ($2.1 billion each) stealth bomber B2 came into service.
But in real war, the US Army seldom used these high-tech bombers. Instead, they usually just needed to launch dozens of Tomahawk cruise missiles hundred miles away from the War Zone. The enemy's anti-aircraft ability would be completely destroyed. Then, even an old-fashioned propeller plane could comfortably fly over the enemy's sky.
You think I'm kidding? The US Air Force's famous deadly "gunship" AC-130 is modified from turbo propeller powered transport aircraft C-130 which first entered combat in 1960s during Vietnam war. After more than 40 years, though numerous experts have predicted these 'old' ships could become easy targets of enemy's missiles and will retire soon, they are still in service & very active in modern war zones.
Old Models Stay
Advanced Jets Forced to Retire
Ironically, old propeller model could stay, many advanced planes with brilliant kill records are forced to retire, such as A10 I mentioned above. Many other well-known names are also in this retirement queue, including F15, F16, F18, etc..
Reason? The US Army imagined, some enemies in future may be able to invent a new type of stealth aircraft which could threaten their Air force. So in 2007, the so-called world most- advanced & expensive ($2.1 billion each) stealth fighter F22 Raptor entered service. Since this aircraft is so superior It can't find any enemy to fight, and so expensive, even the US Army just has the budget to buy 195 units only. In 2010, F22 was forced to cease production.
At the same time, the US Army also requested a new type of supersonic & multi-purpose stealth aircraft to replace the current A10, F15, F16 & F18, which gave birth to F35 Lightning II fighter. F35 is less expensive than F22, around $0.8 ~ $1 billion each, but that doesn't mean it's just a cheaper version of F22, instead it has a more revolutionary software design.
F35 could share real-time data with other aircraft, drones, surface platforms securely, let them fight as a network. That's why all F35 buyers, except strategic ally Israel, are not allowed to customized the fighter's software. Well, for the manufacturer, it generates even bigger business opportunity then selling the plane itself.
You could expect, once you've bought these planes, you have to keep handing over money to the manufacturer, paying all sorts of maintenance & software update fee. If you don't pay, or you suddenly become an enemy or friend of enemies of the United States, your planes may not be able to fly. Even if it could take off, its fate may be like those two unlucky Boeing 737 max.
I'm not exaggerating, last month Adobe users in Venezuela were suddenly informed they can't use Photoshop & Illustrator any more because of US sanctions. Luckily, Adobe finally got a license from the US government. If something is related to National Security, you could imagine the result.
Why would We want a
World without Russia?
F22 has export ban because of its advanced stealth technology, though there is a rumor saying this ban may be released soon cause Donald Trump is pushing Japan to buy some of this expensive weapon to reduce bilateral trade deficit.
At this moment, F35 is still the only choice and has already dominated the Western fighter market. SO the US Air Force will continue to lead this world for decades.
The Russians seem totally understood this, won't spend any more money to replace their obsolete One & Only One Aircraft Carrier. When talking about technological competition, just an 'inch loss' would mean lost everything.
Unlike a few of those naive emerging countries which are still pouring money into all sorts of weapon. Their stupid leaders think showing off some quirky shaped 'new' weapon in military parade could frighten the US, is simply a kind of self-delusion. Instead, the Russians always prepare to fight, therefore focus on developing lethal hypersonic missile & nuclear weapon.
They know the ~6,400 nuclear warheads they possessed (oh, other much-hyped emerging powers has just ~250), even all intercepted by the enemy, the radioactive pollution could still destroy this whole planet. The Russian president Putin once said in an interview "Why would we want a World without Russia?"
That seems cold-blooded! BUT only a weapon arsenal of this scale, can make this planet's superpower ~ the US take some serious consideration before taking any action.
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