Says Russia And China Closing The Gap With The U.S.

The Air Force Chief of Staff said recently that Russia and China are closing the air superiority gap with the U.S., and if deep budget cuts in defense come from Congress, they could overtake all but the F-22 and F-35.

In an interview with Fox News, General Mark Welsh (pictured) said that the two latest U.S. fighters will continue to stay a generation ahead of their rivals, but in the next decade, "we could be facing as many as 50 countries who use Russian and Chinese top-end fighters." And while he would not say directly that those two countries had stolen fighter aircraft designs from the U.S. ... "when you look at pictures you go 'man ... that looks familiar'."

Welsh also said that budget cuts will have a detrimental effect on manpower in the Air Force. He said there are some 200,000 fewer active-duty personnel now than there were during the first Gulf War. "It's a dramatically different Air Force," he said.

Welsh did say that the F-22 has performed well is sorties against ISIS targets, the first time the airplane has been used in an actual combat situation. "I think we saw a lot of what the F-22 can do, but you certainly didn't see all it can do," he said.

(Image from file)

FMI: www.af.mil