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To: JasonC
War is usually won at the foundry and machine shop. China is now the world's largest producer of steel. America though has a key advantage in military robotics. China and India's cheap labor pool will hinder them from investing in cutting-edge robotics.
15 posted on 01/22/2010 6:20:45 AM PST by Reeses
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To: Reeses
Well, neither labor nor steel have much to do with it anymore. Sure robotics matters, but if it were the driver Japan would be the world's leading superpower. No, it is won in the lab, by information and sensor technology, and by the scale of high tech capital spending. The US spends 3-4 times what China and Russia combined spend on defense, and spends it on world-leading tech neither of them possess.

I recall a discussion with an analyst who teaches at the Navy war college about the threat from small platform "swarm" tactics in a Taiwan strait confrontation, in which the US came to Taiwan's aid, against China. His response was succint. Full quote - "Liquid environments. Sensor technology. No problem". (With big grin...)

16 posted on 01/22/2010 9:41:23 AM PST by JasonC
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