When the Cold War officially ended with the collapse of the Soviet Union, many thought that America no longer needed strong defense capabilities. We began to cash in on “peace dividends,” spending less and less on defense. During this time, few thought China would rise and become a major security threat to the U.S. However, that is precisely what happened and why spending less and less on defense is dangerous. We must always be prepared to defend ourselves against near-term threats and have the military might to do so.

While we have spent the past two decades focusing on terrorist threats, China has been focusing on us – closing the capability gap and carefully building a military designed specifically to defeat ours. Slowing down our innovation and relying on older technology only plays into China’s hands.

Developing new technologies with different strengths and advantages makes the job of our adversaries far more difficult. While we have top-notch fighter planes — like the F-35, F/A-18, F-15, and F-22— the........

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