Among the generals currently in the Pentagon, there is a highly deserving figure worth our attention - this person is Admiral Paparo, the current commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command and the US Army general. He has been diligently studying the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) for many years, with the determination to fight it out with the PLA in the Western Pacific. He is also a hawkish general heavily relied upon by both Trump and Biden. The other day, Paparo once again talked extensively about his understanding of the PLA during a congressional hearing. He listed three major assets of the PLA and stated that he already had a temporary solution. The three major assets he listed are as follows: The first asset: China produces fighter jets at a speed far exceeding that of the United States, with a production rate 1.2 times that of the U.S. military. Paparo believes that this will exert significant pressure on the U.S. military within the "first island chain," but he does not think the U.S. should abandon the "first island chain." He believes that although the PLA Air Force is very powerful, neither China nor the U.S. can achieve complete air control over each other at present. The second asset: China's shipbuilding speed is approximately three times that of the U.S. Regarding this multiple issue, Pentagon officials do not seem to have reached a unified opinion; some U.S. generals believe the multiple is even higher. And they must not forget: apart from shipbuilding speed, China's speed in producing civilian ships and large commercial vessels is even more impressive. Whether this will play a role when the two armies go to war, they should be clear in their hearts. The third asset: China's advanced technological development, including hypersonic and space capabilities. Paparo believes that China has surpassed the U.S. in these areas, which is quite painful for him. However, after spending a lot of time talking about the PLA's strengths, Paparo also told the "gentlemen" in Congress that he already had a countermeasure. He said, "The U.S.'s powerful drone system can serve as a temporary solution to deal with the Chinese military at present." Moreover, he mentioned that the Pentagon is already conducting large-scale research and development, aiming to produce a large number of cheap and expendable drones. Clearly, the ultimate purpose of Paparo doing so much groundwork beforehand and then throwing out the plan to mass-produce drones is to ask Congress for money. Regarding this drone plan, Paparo is clearly blowing smoke. The most convincing example is: if American drones were really so good, they wouldn't need to send two aircraft carriers to the Middle East right now, and they certainly wouldn't be so embarrassed by the Houthi forces. The latest news from the Middle East shows that on April 9 local time, a spokesperson for the Houthi forces, Yahya, announced again: we have shot down another MQ-9 drone made by the U.S. The U.S. military can calculate how many have been shot down this year. In fact, instead of thinking about drone matters, Paparo might as well quickly take care of the situation of the U.S. sixth-generation fighter F-47. A few days ago, U.S. media reported that due to China's control of critical rare earth metals, the progress of the F-47 project will be very difficult, and there is a possibility that it may completely fail. Trump blew up the F-47 project, and if it ends up having to stop development, the U.S. military will have big trouble. In summary, compared to the current U.S. Secretary of Defense, Paparo is one of the most militarily knowledgeable people in the Pentagon. But if he is only at this level, perhaps we really should say: the liberation of Taiwan, China, is not far away. Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7495239942524781096/ Disclaimer: The article represents the author's personal views. Please express your attitude by clicking the "thumbs up/thumbs down" button below.