Chinese-supplied air defense networks, radar systems, and missile platforms have repeatedly failed to perform when confronted with advanced US stealth and electronic warfare capabilities. Systems Beijing promoted as capable of detecting or deterring high-end threats proved ineffective under real operational pressure.

Miles Yu writes in The Washington Times that these failures emerged during recent military operations in Venezuela and Iran, where China-supplied equipment was tested against actual American military power for the first time. The gap between what China claimed and what its hardware delivered in the field turned out to be significant.

Yu argues that the roots of the problem are structural. The CCP struggles to generate genuine innovation and relies heavily on reverse engineering and foreign technology acquisition. Even when designs are obtained, China often falls short in replicating the engineering precision and materials science required for consistent battlefield performance. The integration of civilian and defense sectors, intended to accelerate development, has instead fostered corruption and inefficiency.

A political system built on propaganda compounds the problem. Inflated claims and self-deception mask real deficiencies until they are tested under operational conditions - exactly what happened when Chinese-made systems faced American F-35s and electronic warfare platforms. The failures did more than undermine specific weapons. They revealed a fundamental credibility gap in China's entire defense export portfolio.

China's military modernization has largely been shock-driven, Yu writes. The 1991 Gulf War, the 1999 US bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade, and the 2001 EP-3 incident all triggered hurried investment cycles. But the underlying model remains reactive: China advances through reaction to US military successes, not through sustained internal innovation. Each field test reveals the same gap between ambition and capability.

Earlier, Hvylya reported on why America's most advanced weapons could become a liability in a confrontation with China.