China, Russia taking ‘batting practice’ in air intercepts of aging US aircraft, general says

[rangerrebew]

China, Russia taking ‘batting practice’ in air intercepts of aging US aircraft, general says
Aggressive maneuvers underscore diminishing U.S. advantage, Air Combat Command leader said.
AUDREY DECKER | SEPTEMBER 13, 2023
 
   
Russian and Chinese forces are growing bolder in their aerial intercepts of U.S. aircraft, in part because they’re no longer intimidated by America’s aging air fleet, a top U.S. Air Force general says.

“When Russia or China looked at the U.S. Air Force 30 years ago before [and] after Desert Storm, it was just not something you wanted to get near. It was not remotely a capability you wanted to challenge at all,” Gen. Mark Kelly, Air Combat Command chief, told reporters Tuesday.

Not only is the U.S. fighter force getting smaller and older, China and Russia have also been heavily investing in their fleets, Kelly said at the Air & Space Forces Association’s annual Air, Space & Cyber conference outside Washington, D.C.

“Yesterday” is when Air Combat Command needs the service’s planned new aircraft, such as the E-7 Wedgetail and the Next Generation Air Dominance, or NGAD, fighter jet, Kelly said.

https://www.defenseone.com/threats/2023/09/china-russia-taking-batting-practice-air-intercepts-aging-us-aircraft-general-says/390249/

[rangerrebew]

The university where I did my undergraduate studies had a head football coach who had been there since Moby Dick was a minnow.  Other coaches didn't bother scouting the football team since plays hadn't changed in at least 30 years.  It could be a good strategy for the AF to lull the enemy into complacency with old junk, then hit them with new stuff when the need arises.