US vs China

As a former 20 year veteran of the US armed forces I can say one thing with clarity. Yes we would. Our combined military could withstand a war at the same time with every other nation on earth, including Canada and Mexico. Let’s talk conventional war.

Number of troops: China has a 1 million man military, the US has about 300,000. Most of those national guard and reserve. So China could call up more troops faster than the US can. Although the US keeps an air borne division on call at all times and ready to be in a plane in 2 hours is something at least.

Sea technology: China has some good ships, good missles, but no real navy. China is using mostly Russian surplus that is outdated, although they update some of their military gear. The one working air craft carrier is a diesel powered design that the us rejected in the 1940’s. The US has several nuclear powered ships that can Level a small country. China has mostly diesel powered subs, the USonly uses nuclear power. While some Chinese subs are nasty, the US has some nasty hunter/killer subs that are ultra quiet.

Air defense (planes). China uses the MIG fighter jet. Fast, maneuverable, inexpensive and can carry some nasty hardware and can hold their own. The us primarily uses the F-15. Slower than the MIG, they carry high tech weapons that can even a fight out. Now with the introduction of the F-22 raptor stealth fighter the game changed. Light and fast, but not real maneuverable the raptor carries air to air, air to ground and smart bombs. They have a lower range than the MIG but can fire a middle at a ground target outside of the MIGsfuel range. The us also has armed drones that are controlled remotely. They scare the crap out of isis.

Air defense (ground) while China has a wide radar net over their country, it is outdated for the most part. With the US stealth technology they do not have the ability to really see them enough to get a radar lock. The UShas advanced radar technology as well as computerized missles. The US radar can reach farther out than the Chinese counterpart.

Troops technology: numbers aren’t everything in warfare, technology and training have a part in it. The basic loadout for a US troop is a weapon. 310 rounds of ammo (800 or more for heavy machine gunners) Kevlar/ceramic body armor that can stop an AK-47 round at point blank range and a Kevlar helmet. Over 1 million dollars in gear. The Chinese us only the AK-47 as personal weapons. The AK is the best assault rifle on the market. Cheap, easy to use and will work under any condition. They are wildly inaccurate while on full auto where the US M-4 uses a 3 round burst and can be tricky to get to fire in certain conditions like sand. The 7.62mm round of the AK-47 can hit harder and faster than their UScounterpart 5.56mm. Although the 5.56mm has more range and accuracy. While modifications are available for the AK, the M-4 has about 200 accessories you can use with it, from thermal vision to shotguns.

Troop training: the Chinese have a tough training program, YouTube it, than the US. To train a US soldier it takes usually 6-13 weeks and about $500,000 per person, it is basically on par with China. In China soldiers are trained to obey officers, the US the same but allow for independent thought if needed. Also US military officers start from the bottom up. China has given people the general rank as political favores, even if that person never served in the military before.

Armor and ground vehicles. Armored vehicles of both the US and China are on par with each other. The US armor just has a little more technology like the ability to control all the weapons from inside and in some cases remotely. The vehicles and light armor of the US and China are on par for the most part. Except for tanks. China uses Russian surplus tanks based off out M-50 production last used in the 1960’s, the US has the M1A1 Abrams. Able to hit a moving tank at 1 mile, at night, going 70 MPH over rough turain.

Nuclear technology.
China is the worlds 3rd largest nuclear power. They have the ability to strike the US, but not with accuracy Russia has. The US also has nuclear missles on subs always put in the ocean. Also the US always has one B-52 stealth bomber in the air with a full nuclear payload at any given time. 24/7. China could nuke some major cities, but the US could turn China into a radio active parking lot in a few hours.

Ability for a prolonged war: any other country I would say the US hands down, but not China. Our economies are so intertwined that it would be hard for the US to maintain a prolonged war, but not impossible. Where China would have Russia as an ally and suppling them, the US would have most of the rest of the world.

Ability for ground troops on each other’s soil. The US could get more troops onto Chinese soil faster, but would face obstacles like faced before. A lot of China is inaccessible in any easy manner allowing Chinese troops to hide in these mountain regions out of our reach. We learned that in Afghanistan. While the Chinese would have major roads to the vast majority of our country, they would be facing a population where the majority of Americans own firearms.

In conclusion. The war, without nukes, would be long but ultimately the US would win due to overwhelming technology. In a nuclear war the US might survive, but China would not.

Your thoughts?