At a high-level Council on Foreign Relations panel in Manhattan on May 19, top US military leaders sounded an unmistakable alarm: America’s armed forces are at a pivotal crossroads.
The global battlefield is evolving at breakneck speed, driven by emerging technologies, rising autocracies, and above all, the rapid military modernization and expanding defense capabilities of the People’s Republic of China.
“We know we have to change,” warned Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy A. George. “The battlefield is shifting as quickly as the technology in your pocket.”
Across all branches—from space to sea, sky to Arctic ice—the consensus was clear: if the US military fails to adapt at pace, it risks ceding ground in an intensifying era of strategic competition.
And no rival looms larger in this calculus than China.
The China Challenge
The panel, which included senior officials from the Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard, focused on the strategic imperative to adapt quickly in response to what they described as a mounting “readiness crisis” years in the making.
A key concern: the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), which continues to grow in sophistication and scale.
“They are certainly putting a lot of resources into capabilities,” said Gen. David Allvin, Chief of Staff of the US Air Force.
“Will they fight? I don’t want to find out. But they’ve got a leader with ambition,” he added, referring to Chinese President Xi Jinping. “That’s something we need to take very seriously.”
The US military’s leadership expressed particular concern over the PLA’s advancements in naval power, aerospace technology, and integrated systems.
In response, the Pentagon aims to accelerate the adoption of both manned and unmanned platforms to maintain deterrence and ensure strategic superiority.
The message from Manhattan was that the United States must evolve technologically, doctrinally, and operationally or risk falling behind in a new era of global military competition.
The Navy’s Dilemma
While the US Navy retains qualitative superiority—better-trained crews, more advanced systems—leaders are alarmed by the scale of China’s shipbuilding output.
“I have no doubt about our ships or how we train and use them. But quantity? That’s a concern,” said Adm. James W. Kilby, acting Chief of Naval Operations, during a recent panel. “Virtually every shipbuilding class we have is behind schedule.”
Kilby expressed deep frustration with the US industrial base’s inability to scale up production, especially as China now boasts the world’s largest navy by number of vessels and possesses over 200 times the shipbuilding capacity of the United States.
To bridge the gap, the Navy is turning to a “hybrid fleet”—a mix of traditional warships and unmanned surface, undersea, and aerial vehicles.
Kilby said this blended approach, already proving effective in Ukraine, could allow the US to extend its naval reach without matching China ship-for-ship.
“There’s great value in combining manned and unmanned systems,” he noted. “We’re experimenting with how to integrate them into a strike group effectively.”
As China surges ahead, the US Navy is betting that innovation, not just scale, will be key to preserving maritime dominance.
Drone Wars: US & China Race For Supremacy
Drone warfare is rapidly reshaping modern conflict—and both the US and China know it.
Beijing is deploying its Wing Loong and Chang Hong systems across conflict zones and export markets alike.
In response, the US is shifting gears. The Air Force is moving away from standalone legacy systems, opting instead for integrated, human-machine teams designed for speed, precision, and lethality.
At a recent Council on Foreign Relations event, Gen. Eric Smith, Commandant of the US Marine Corps, emphasized a strategic pivot: long-range precision fire and uncrewed sensor platforms over traditional artillery.
“Future conflict is about range and detection,” Smith said. “It’s a high-stakes game of finding the enemy first.”
That’s why the Marine Corps has heavily invested in systems like the MQ-9 Reaper—a long-endurance drone equipped with sophisticated sensors and strike capabilities.
“When I can sense and make sense of what’s going on,” Smith added, “I can deter it before it escalates—or strike before it strikes me.”
As drone warfare becomes central to modern combat, both the US and China are racing to dominate the skies, with technology, not just troop numbers, as the deciding factor.
Space: The New Front Line
“The threats to the homeland are growing—perhaps more than we’ve seen in a generation,” warned Gen. B. Chance Saltzman, Chief of Space Operations, as he outlined the US Space Force’s sobering new reality.
Speaking at a recent defense forum, Saltzman emphasized that space is no longer a sanctuary. PLA has developed advanced anti-satellite weapons designed to “deny” the US access to space-based systems—systems that for decades have powered everything from battlefield coordination to GPS and weather tracking.
“Our adversaries have built capabilities specifically designed to take those systems out,” he said. “And that makes me mad. It makes me mad that I don’t yet have the tools to fully protect our joint force from that kind of fight.”
To counter this emerging threat, the Space Force is investing in “Golden Dome”—a next-generation homeland defense initiative aimed at shielding America from space-borne attacks.
Saltzman argued that the cost is justified by the stakes: “We have to prepare for the worst day the US could face, when adversaries unleash their most advanced weapons against us—and that includes from orbit.”
As the PLA pushes space toward the front lines of conflict, the US Space Force is racing to ensure America doesn’t get caught flat-footed in the cosmos.
Arctic Ambitions, Melting Margins
Meanwhile, in the far north, America’s Arctic readiness is faltering, just as Russia and China ramp up their presence in the region.
“We’re at our lowest readiness since World War II,” said Adm. Kevin Lunday of the US Coast Guard, citing underfunding and a shortfall in icebreakers and cutters.
The Arctic, he warned, is becoming a strategic theater—one where US presence is power.
As an Arctic nation, the US must bolster its capabilities, and icebreakers are at the heart of that mission. The Coast Guard is actively seeking to expand both its icebreaker and cutter fleets to keep pace with rising threats.
Without immediate reinvestment, Lunday said, the US risks “strategic failure” in a region crucial to future trade routes, energy security, and great-power rivalry.
The Taiwan Question
One date kept surfacing in discussions: 2027—a potential flashpoint for a Chinese move on Taiwan. While Beijing has not declared a timeline, US military planners are treating it as a possible window for confrontation.
“Time matters,” Kilby said. “It’s a variable we don’t often consider—but we should.”
The Pentagon’s response is not to plan for a single battle, but for a new kind of war: fast, decentralized, and deeply integrated across domains. Air Force investments in unmanned systems, agile basing, and force mobility reflect this shift.
“The future fight isn’t about numbers—it’s about speed and cohesion,” said Gen. Allvin.
The US Edge: Experience And Integration
Despite China’s rise, Pentagon leaders are confident in one enduring American advantage: combat experience.
“Our last war was captured on an iPhone 14. Theirs was painted on oil and canvas,” said Gen. Smith, highlighting the PLA’s lack of real-world combat exposure.
In contrast, US forces have decades of hard-won knowledge from Iraq, Afghanistan, and beyond—and a proven ability to operate jointly across services.
That cohesion, leaders argue, remains a decisive edge.
Can Asia Help? Strategic Solidarity As Deterrence
China’s aggression has done what diplomacy alone could not: it has galvanized the Indo-Pacific.
From Tokyo to Manila, Canberra to New Delhi, regional powers are increasingly aligned around a common concern—and a common opportunity. With the right investments and diplomacy, Washington can leverage this momentum to forge a stronger, unified front.
No single country can counterbalance China alone. But together, through shared technology, integrated training, and collective deterrence, America and its allies can shape a regional order grounded in stability and resilience.
In the end, the most powerful weapon may not be a missile or a drone, but unity.
- Shubhangi Palve is a defense and aerospace journalist. Before joining the EurAsian Times, she worked for ET Prime. She has over 15 years of extensive experience in the media industry, spanning print, electronic, and online domains.
- Contact the author at shubhapalve (at) gmail.com
