The U.S. Navy’s Bud Light Moment

The Senate Armed Services Committee heard chilling testimony Tuesday from the Government Accountability Office: The Navy’s ship-maintenance backlog tops $1.8 billion; its aircraft are aging; American shipyards are in poor condition. The U.S. Navy is in decline.

Contrast that with China’s military surge. The Pentagon’s most recent China Military Power report shows that China’s army, navy and space assets are accelerating at a pace one American four-star admiral called “breathtaking.” China already has the largest navy in the world and it’s getting larger. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s office reports that China’s air force is “rapidly catching up to Western air forces.”