Russia and China can knock down A-10’s in their airspace, but both have weaknesses in projecting force into the areas that the U.S. cares about.
The U.S. isn’t invading Russia or China.
Ever.
There simply aren’t U.S. interests there.
For that matter, geopolitical decisions and priorities are changing.
Russia doesn’t gain anything from invading Europe. It would in fact lose its largest customer of natural gas and have to prop up Greeks who refuse to work.
China isn’t invading its biggest customer, the U.S.
...and every U.S. oil well that gets fracked means that Africa diminishes in importance for the U.S.
What the world is coming to is a point where the regional and Super-Powers only need to project force into lawless badlands or into the occasional invaded minor country.
Russia is an oil exporter. China is an oil importer. The U.S. is headed toward oil neutrality in the next 5 years.
Which is to say, the major geopolitical goals of the world’s largest powers no longer clash.
China has some issues with Taiwan and India. Handled properly there won’t be another global war.
Just regional wars or war-flashes.
...and that means more and more drones. Zap. There goes another bad guy, and they aren’t putting up many IED’s in the sky to fight back.
They’ve got small arms, and the new main battle tanks can dispatch with them.
Well stated. For every weapon system, there is another weapon system to match it.
Terrain and situation drive the operational environment.