To achieve military parity with the United States, China believes the PLA must secure what it calls the “Three Superiorities”: information, air, and maritime power. Of these, information superiority is the most critical, as it underpins the ability to prosecute and win modern wars.

Beijing is rapidly expanding and modernizing the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), and although it is narrowing the gap with the United States, it still falls short across all three domains.

The task of securing this advantage falls to the People’s Liberation Army Strategic Support Force (PLASSF). Since 2000, when China launched its first military imaging satellites, and 2007, when it deployed its first over-the-horizon skywave radar, it has steadily expanded a sophisticated intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) network.

That same year, China demonstrated a kinetic anti-satellite capability and has since acquired Russian-made jamming systems and high-powered dual-use radio transmitters capable of targeting U.S. communication and surveillance satellites.

In recent years, China has nearly doubled its satellite launches, fielding more than 260 on-orbit ISR systems, along with over-the-horizon radar able to detect targets 2,000 kilometers beyond its coastline.

At the same time, it has advanced counter-drone capabilities, developing AI-driven sensor fusion networks, the Hurricane-3000 microwave weapon that can disable electronics within 3,000 meters, and CETC’s “Yuanmo” system, which integrates operations across multiple domains.

These advances are supported by efforts to secure real-time connectivity and resilient battle networks through improvements in command, control, and communications. Electronic warfare has become a central focus, with significant investments in jamming, spoofing, and other methods designed to disrupt U.S. systems.

Despite these advances, China faces critical limitations. U.S. battle networks and advanced AESA radar systems retain a technological edge, particularly in electronic warfare resistance and target discrimination.

Chinese doctrine for information warfare remains largely theoretical and has not been tested in real combat against peer adversaries.

Seamless cross-domain integration, a requirement for China’s systems approach, has yet to be proven in contested electromagnetic environments where the U.S. excels.

These gaps mean that while China has made information dominance a priority and achieved significant progress, its ability to challenge U.S. superiority in this domain remains uncertain.

For China to achieve air superiority, the requirements include advanced fighter aircraft, long-range precision strike capabilities, integrated air defense systems, and counter-air capabilities to neutralize U.S. airpower.

China has made rapid progress in these areas, fielding operational fifth-generation fighters such as the J-20 “Mighty Dragon” and unveiling the sixth-generation J-36, which features a trijet, tailless design intended for air superiority missions.

China has also developed increasingly accurate ballistic and cruise missiles, improving from hundreds of meters of accuracy in the 1990s to within five to ten meters today.

These systems, supported by over-the-horizon intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance extending 2,000 kilometers beyond China’s coastline, pose a serious threat to forward-deployed U.S. air bases.

In terms of defense, the PLA’s integrated air defense network is anchored by the HQ-9B system, which can track up to 100 targets simultaneously and has a range of 250 kilometers, providing extensive coverage across key regions.

Despite these advances, critical gaps remain. The J-20 lacks internal air-to-ground bomb capacity, limiting its effectiveness as a multirole aircraft. Chinese pilots also remain culturally constrained by micromanagement from ground controllers, in stark contrast to U.S. pilots, who operate as autonomous battle-space managers.

Moreover, much of the PLA’s airpower strategy remains largely theoretical and untested, as seen in performance gaps revealed during China’s only recent combat experience, the Eastern Ladakh confrontation with India.

Maritime superiority for China rests on four pillars: anti-ship ballistic missiles that introduce a new threat dimension for U.S. carrier strike groups, advanced surface and submarine forces, area-denial and sea-control architectures, and the ability to project power beyond the First Island Chain.

Together, these capabilities are intended to hold adversary fleets at risk near China’s periphery while extending operational reach into the broader Pacific and Indian Oceans.

China has built the world’s largest navy by fleet size, with more than 370 combat vessels. Its surface fleet is anchored by eight Type 055 destroyers displacing roughly 12,000–13,000 tons, each with 112 vertical launch cells and advanced dual-band radars that approach the capability of U.S. cruisers.

The Fujian aircraft carrier marks a major technological leap: a conventionally powered ship of about 80,000–85,000 tons equipped with electromagnetic catapults, enabling launch of J-35 stealth fighters and KJ-600 airborne early-warning aircraft.

Undersea, China operates six Jin-class ballistic-missile submarines armed with JL-3 SLBMs with ranges exceeding 10,000 kilometers, while the Type 096 class under development is expected to feature enhanced stealth and 16–24 missile tubes. These platforms, combined with anti-ship ballistic and cruise missiles and expanding maritime ISR networks, strengthen both sea-denial and power-projection options.

Important limitations persist. Current submarines are widely assessed as noisy, comparable to 1980s Soviet boats, making them more detectable to U.S. forces.

Questions remain about shipbuilding quality, weapons-integration reliability, and missile performance against sophisticated countermeasures.

Fujian’s conventional power plant, unlike the nuclear propulsion used by U.S. and French carriers, constrains endurance and global reach.

More broadly, China still lacks deep-water operational experience and has yet to demonstrate the combat effectiveness of its integrated naval systems under high-end, contested conditions.

In sum, China has made significant advancements and continues to expand its military capabilities. Yet its overall firepower and wartime operability still lag behind that of the United States. The U.S., however, can only maintain this edge through sustained defense spending, research, and development.

The post The Three Capabilities the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Needs to Reach Military Parity with the US appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

On Tuesday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy revealed the illegal alien truck driver who killed three people on the Florida highway last week failed English and couldn’t read road signs.

The Punjabi driver who obtained his truck driving license (CDL) in the Democrat-run sanctuary state of California – and Washington state – made an insane U-turn on Florida’s Turnpike near Fort Pierce last Tuesday and caused a deadly crash.

The driver, identified as Harjinder Singh, was arrested in Stockton, California, and charged with 3 counts of vehicular homicide on Saturday.

“At the conclusion of his state charges, he will be deported,” Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, Executive Director, Dave Kerner said.

The horrifying video shows Singh completely unbothered and unfazed after a minivan collided with his truck as he made an illegal U-turn.

WATCH:

The American Trucking Industry has been gutted by unregulated immigration over the past five years. These “California ” drivers are part of an eco system that puts profit over safety. That puts greed before your family.

A system that not only doesn’t put Americans first but… pic.twitter.com/HZBXWg0eck

— American Truckers (@atutruckers) August 16, 2025

“The failures here are despicable. Non-enforcement and radical immigration policies have turned the trucking industry into a lawless frontier, resulting in unqualified foreign drivers improperly acquiring licenses to operate 40-ton vehicles,” Duffy said.

“President Trump and I moved quickly to require drivers to speak English – our national language – and launch a full-scale audit of how these licenses are doled out,” he added.

Secretary Duffy said of Harjinder Singh:

1. Washington State improperly issued the driver a full-term CDL. Asylum seekers or illegal aliens are NOT allowed to receive this!

2. New Mexico failed to conduct an English Language Proficiency test when they pulled the driver over for speeding. Had they done this, the driver would not have been on the road!

3. We are also looking into California’s issuance of the driver’s CDL.

This cannot happen again.

.@FMCSA is launching an investigation into both the driver and White Hawk Carrier.

Here’s what we know:

1. Washington State improperly issued the driver a full-term CDL. Asylum seekers or illegal aliens are NOT allowed to receive this!

2. New Mexico… pic.twitter.com/Qlf8T68IJz

— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) August 19, 2025

On Monday it was revealed that Harjinder Singh received a work permit from the Biden Regime in June 2021 after the Trump Admin denied him one in September 2020.

Three innocent people were killed in Florida because Gavin Newsom’s California DMV issued an illegal alien a Commercial Driver’s License.

This gut wrenching tragedy should have never happened.@POTUS Trump and @Sec_Noem are working around the clock to protect the public and get… pic.twitter.com/o88V0MH63M

— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) August 19, 2025

The post Illegal Alien Truck Driver Who Killed Three People on Florida Highway Failed English, Couldn’t Read Road Signs appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday hilariously trolled Fox’s Jacqui Heinrich, who was trying to ask a question about President Trump’s comments on why the war between Russia and Ukraine started.

Heinrich opened her question, stating, “This President often says that this war would not have started if he were in office, and Putin confirmed that,” and Leavitt interrupted with a question.

“It’s true. Do you accept that as truth?” she asked Heinrich, who responded in the affirmative.

Putin even agreed that the war would have never started if Trump were President at the time Russia invaded! “In 2022, during the last contact with the previous administration, I tried to convince my previous American colleague that the situation should not be brought to the point of no return when it would come to hostilities,” Putin said during a press conference with Trump on Friday.

Previously, Heinrich reported on Fox that Trump’s Anchorage, Alaska, meeting with Putin on Friday was “very unusual, atypical,” and said the feeling in the room was “not good” as reporters awaited the end of the meeting and a readout with more information.

“It did not seem like things went well, and it seemed like Putin came in and steamrolled and got in what he wanted to say,” Heinrich reported, despite Trump and Putin announcing in a press conference that they had finally reached an agreement to possibly end the war between Russia and Ukraine.

Karoline Leavitt opened the press briefing on a warpath, delivering a scathing rebuke of the Fake News Media for their dishonest coverage of the Russia-Ukraine talks. As The Gateway Pundit reported, she later obliterated the New York Times for asking a stupid question that was meant to smear the President’s success with European leaders and Russia.

WATCH: Karoline Leavitt OWNS New York Times Reporter for Asking Stupid Question About why Trump Made Phone Call to Putin Privately – “Only the New York Times Would Ask a Question Like That”

Heinrich ultimately asked Leavitt how the President plans to ensure the agreed-upon security guarantees for Ukraine and peace in the region last after Trump leaves office.

WATCH:

Heinrich: This President often says that this war would not have started if he were in office, and Putin confirmed that--

Leavitt: True. It's true. Do you accept that as truth?

Heinrich: Probably.

Leavitt: The European leaders do. And President Putin himself said that, himself, by the way.

Heinrich: He did say that. The question I have, though, is what is the President going to do to ensure that these security guarantees last beyond him, into the time when he is no longer president, and does that have to involve Congress at all?

Leavitt: Well, he understands the need for that, which he spoke to yesterday. And what's he going to do, it's why he's engaging in so many talks and so many conversations with both sides of this war, with our European allies. It's why on the way home from Anchorage Alaska, very late at night, when I know many of you on the press plane were sleeping, and many staff were sleeping, the President himself was still awake at two o'clock in the morning, talking to European leaders and NATO about how we can ensure a lasting peace and bring this conflict to an end. He has expended incredible amount of time, energy and effort into bringing this war to an end, and he remains determined to do that.

The post LOL! Leavitt Makes Jacqui Heinrich, Who Previously Claimed Putin “Steamrolled Trump,” Admit that Ukraine War Would have Never Started Under Trump (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

For the first time in nearly 20 years, Bolivian voters have rejected socialism. The country’s socialist economic “miracle” rested on asset seizures, nationalization of private industries, charity from communist allies, and windfalls from a global commodities boom. But a decade of deepening economic crisis has made voters realize that true prosperity comes from productive investment, not state handouts.

On 17 August, Bolivia held presidential and general elections. Former socialist president Evo Morales, founder of the MAS party, was barred from running. Morales had risen to power during the early 2000s “pink tide” of leftist leaders that swept Latin America, and his party had dominated Bolivian politics since 2006.

This time, however, the Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) suffered a crushing defeat after nearly two decades in power, with its official candidate Eduardo del Castillo finishing sixth, winning only 3.2 percent of the vote. The other leftist candidate, Senate president Andrinico Rodriguez, captured just 8% of the vote

The election results confirmed a dramatic political shift. Centrist candidate Rodrigo Paz led with 32.8 percent of the vote, followed by right-wing former president Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga with 26.4 percent. Since neither candidate reached the required threshold of 50 percent, or 40 percent with a 10-point margin, the two will face each other in a runoff on October 19.

Both candidates mark a decisive break from MAS socialism, each vowing sweeping reforms to dismantle the state-led economic model. No matter who wins in October, the result will mark the definitive end of socialism’s long dominance in Bolivia.

The collapse of support for socialism in Bolivia is rooted in a severe economic crisis marked by soaring inflation, fuel shortages, and widespread mismanagement under the outgoing socialist government. By late 2024, the country was virtually bankrupt, with liquid reserves falling to just $47 million out of $1.98 billion, leaving Bolivia unable to cover balance of payments pressures.

Inflation reached 10 percent at the end of 2024—the highest in more than a decade—and climbed to 14.6 percent by March 2025, placing Bolivia among the most inflationary economies in Latin America after Argentina, Venezuela, and Cuba. At the same time, the fiscal deficit exceeded 10 percent of GDP, public debt climbed to 84 percent of GDP (92 percent dollar-denominated), and the parallel exchange rate devalued by 20–25 percent, exposing extreme currency distress.

The crisis has been devastating for ordinary Bolivians. Food prices have surged, with chicken up 9.45 percent, beef 4.45 percent, tomatoes 25.58 percent, and onions 22.83 percent. Oil and gas revenues, once the backbone of the economy, collapsed from $5.5 billion in 2014 to $1.6 billion in 2024, while gas production was cut in half. Rating agencies repeatedly downgraded Bolivia, with JP Morgan ranking it the second riskiest economy in the region after Venezuela. The IMF projects inflation will reach nearly 16 percent in 2025 with GDP growth of just 1.1 percent. This economic freefall pushed President Arce’s disapproval rating close to 80 percent by early 2025 and ultimately led to the complete electoral collapse of the socialist party.

During the early years of Evo Morales’s socialist rule (2006–2014), Bolivia experienced rapid socioeconomic gains that seemed to validate the government’s model. Gas revenues increased nearly sevenfold, from $731 million to $4.95 billion in just eight years. This windfall allowed social spending on health, education, pensions, and poverty programs to rise by 45 percent in real terms.

Between 2006 and 2019, GDP per capita doubled, average GDP growth reached 4.8 percent annually,  one of the fastest rates in South America, and international reserves surged from $1.1 billion in 2000 to $15.3 billion by 2014. Poverty fell by 25 percent, extreme poverty by 43 percent, and inequality declined sharply, with the Gini coefficient dropping from 0.60 to 0.446.

Social indicators also improved: electricity access rose from 68 to 92 percent, illiteracy fell from 13 to 2 percent, and child mortality rates were cut roughly in half. Meanwhile, the real minimum wage rose nearly 88 percent, and unemployment was halved from 7.7 to 4.4 percent by 2008. In 2010, the World Bank upgraded Bolivia from “lower-income” to “lower-middle income,” reflecting these broad gains.

Bolivia’s so-called economic miracle came at the expense of personal freedom, property rights, and heavy dependence on foreign allies. Rather than building sustainable industries, the boom was fueled by asset seizures, external subsidies, and a favorable global commodities cycle.

On May 1, 2006, Morales sent the military to occupy gas fields and forced foreign firms to renegotiate contracts under threat of expulsion. The state’s share of revenue jumped from 50 to 82 percent, not through greater productivity but through coercion. Limited land redistribution followed, with about 50 million acres of government land granted and roughly 100,000 hectares seized from large ranches, relatively small compared to promises of sweeping reform.

Support from communist-aligned nations bolstered the system. Cuba provided $63 million in free medical care and trained over 5,000 Bolivian doctors, while Venezuela extended preferential treatment through its ALBA alliance. China’s role also expanded, with state-linked firms like CAMC winning nearly half a billion dollars in contracts without competitive bidding.

Bolivia also benefited from the global commodities boom between 2002 and 2014, which drove hydrocarbon revenues up nearly sevenfold, from $731 million to $4.95 billion during Morales’s first eight years. Much of the growth attributed to socialism was in fact the product of this external windfall rather than genuine, sustainable development.

The post Socialism Defeated in Bolivia, the Reign of Evo Morales’s MAS Party Ended appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt delivered a scathing rebuke of the media on Tuesday during a press briefing after President Trump brought the world to the verge of solving the years-long war between Russia and Ukraine. 

As The Gateway Pundit reported, President Trump hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and seven European Leaders to negotiate a peace agreement after meeting with Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday.

During the meeting, Trump revealed that Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to a deal that would involve security guarantees for Ukraine, which Ukraine has made as one of its central demands to end the war.

President Trump later spoke with Putin privately and announced that Putin agreed to meet with Zelensky and later participate in a trilateral meeting with Trump and Zelensky.

Biden was in office for nearly three years as the war raged on, but Trump got everyone to the negotiating table in a matter of months. Leavitt told accurately reporters, “Under George W. Bush, Russia invaded Georgia. Under Barack Obama, Russia took Crimea. Under Joe Biden, Russia invaded Ukraine, but under President Trump, Russia did not invade, nor take anything. President Trump is the only President this century, Republican or Democrat, who has held Russia in check and ensured peace in Europe.”

“While previous Presidents have traveled halfway around the world to apologize for America, President Trump stands up for America, and he has firmly restored America’s status as the undisputed leader of the free world,” Leavitt said.

“However, one thing that has absolutely not changed is the media’s negative and downright false coverage of President Trump and his foreign policy accomplishments.”

It can be recalled that after President Trump met with Putin last week in Anchorage, Alaska, the leftist media had a field day, reporting that Trump was being too soft on Russia, showing weakness to Putin, or planning to bully Zelensky into accepting a bad deal, among other absurd claims.

Leavitt highlighted the historic accomplishment by President Trump during her opening remarks at Tuesday’s briefing and shredded the fake news media, accusing them of attempting to “actively undermine the president and sabotage the efforts towards peace.”

WATCH:

Leavitt: What we’ve witnessed President Trump accomplish over the last few days has been nothing short of remarkable. We are now three and a half years into the war between Russia and Ukraine, a brutal conflict that has claimed hundreds of thousands of Russian and Ukrainian lives and cost trillions of dollars. The weakness and incompetence of Joe Biden foolishly allowed the killing to start in the first place. Until President Trump returned to office in January, the bloody and broken Biden status quo was to endlessly force American taxpayers to fund Ukraine, no matter the cost, no matter how long it takes, and no matter how many lives were lost. There is no denying that Biden’s America Last foreign policy moved the world further away from Peace.

President Trump rejected that failed approach and, instead, over the last seven months, has relentlessly pursued peace throughout his second term, and thanks to President Trump’s efforts, we finally have movement after years of deadly gridlock. On Friday, as you all know, many of you were there—President Trump hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, for a bilateral meeting. This was the first time President Putin has been to the United States since 2015 and the first time he has met with an American president in years. President Putin publicly confirmed what President Trump has said all along: The war between Russia and Ukraine never would have started in the first place if President Trump were in office. This was always obvious to any person with a shred of common sense. Just look at what took place during the last four administrations. Under George W. Bush, Russia invaded Georgia. Under Barack Obama, Russia took Crimea. Under Joe Biden, Russia invaded Ukraine, but under President Trump, Russia did not invade, nor take anything.

President Trump is the only President this century, Republican or Democrat, who has held Russia in check and ensured peace in Europe. That’s because Russia has always greatly respected President Trump and his peace through strength foreign policy approach. But overall, the bilateral talks in Alaska were very productive, and multiple key points were agreed to between the two leaders that truly opened up the door for phase two discussions, which took place yesterday here at the White House, within 48 hours of that meeting in Anchorage, I may add. As you all know, there were many European leaders here, as well as Ukrainian President Zelensky. They all traveled here to meet with President Trump to maintain the momentum and work toward a lasting peace. Across the board, every leader credited President Trump for his decisive leadership that has reignited the dialogue in hopes of finally bringing this war to a peaceful conclusion.

Two quotes in particular capture the progress that was made and the optimism moving forward. Finnish President Alexander Stone said, “I think in the past two weeks, we’ve probably had more progress in ending this war than we’ve had in the past three and a half years.” Again, that is the President of Finland, a country that shares a border with Russia. That’s what we call the President Trump Effect. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte also summed it up well. Without President Trump, this deadlock with Putin would not have been broken. He is the only one who could do this. Following the encouraging conversations yesterday, President Trump spoke with President Putin by phone, and he agreed to begin the next phase of the peace process, a meeting between President Putin and President Zelensky, which would be followed, if necessary, by a trilateral meeting between President Putin, President Zelensky, and President Trump. As the President said, Vice President Vance, Secretary Rubio, and Special Envoy Witkoff will continue to coordinate with Russia and Ukraine to make this happen as soon as possible. It’s very important to remember that before President Trump’s landslide victory last November, there was no end in sight to this bloodshed. Now there may finally be light at the end of the tunnel and an opportunity for lasting peace. That’s because President Trump is the peace president, and American leadership is back on the world stage.

It should not be lost on anyone in this room that world leaders are coming right here to Washington, DC, for help. While previous Presidents have traveled halfway around the world to apologize for America, President Trump stands up for America, and he has firmly restored America’s status as the undisputed leader of the free world. However, one thing that has absolutely not changed is the media’s negative and downright false coverage of President Trump and his foreign policy accomplishments. From the beginning of this entire process, much of the left-wing media has been actively rooting against the President of the United States in the pursuit of peace. Initially, the media ridiculously claimed that President Trump was somehow beholden to Russia for even agreeing to have a face-to-face discussion with President Putin inside of the United States. The media said President Trump was making a grave mistake by “legitimizing Putin.” They were aghast that President Trump would treat another world leader like a world leader. The media relentlessly attacked President Trump and claimed he suffered a “major defeat” for not immediately emerging with a final agreement, even though he said, heading into that meeting, this was a meeting to listen and to understand how to move the ball forward.

All weekend, following those historic US-Russia bilateral talks, we listened to clueless pundits on television, trying, but failing, to claim that the President had failed. The so called experts in the foreign policy establishmnt, whose record is nothing but endless wars, trillions of wasted taxpayer dollars, and dead Americans, have the nerve to try and lecture President Trump, who has solved seven global conflicts in seven months, about peace. This is the same president, by the way, who brokered the Abraham Accords in his first term, on top of more than half a dozen other peace deals this year alone as I just said. We also saw, yesterday, the President of Ukraine and all of the other major leaders of Europe fly across the Atlantic Ocean to meet President Trump at the White House because of the progress that was made in that, if you ask the media, failed meeting, but it was not. It was highly productive and it was successful. This is why Americans trust in the mass media is at the lowest point in more than five decades. Diplomacy is a delicate process, and instead of reporting the facts about what is happening here at this White House and what is happening between this President and other leaders around the world, many outlets in this room continue to try to actively undermine the president and sabotage the efforts towards peace. That is why I felt the need to set the record straight.

Leavitt later encountered a New York Times reporter attempting to smear the President and make a spectacle of his Tuesday phone call with Putin, and she nuked him and the New York Times for asking such a stupid, narrative-driven question, The Gateway Pundit reported.

WATCH: Karoline Leavitt OWNS New York Times Reporter for Asking Stupid Question About why Trump Made Phone Call to Putin Privately – “Only the New York Times Would Ask a Question Like That”

The post WATCH: Karoline Leavitt SHREDS Leftist Media and “Clueless Pundits” for Dishonest Coverage of Trump’s Russia-Ukraine Negotiations, “Actively Rooting Against the President” appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.