China: Military, Space, and Economy Technology

Does Defensive Modernization Work in the 21st Century?

Defensive Modernization = Poor Domestic Infrastructure

China's heavy investment in military and space technology has a direct result of poor rural internal infrastructure.

Chinese Battleships now out number the US navy:

The Economist reports that the rising cost of military weapons has caused a steady decline in defense technology within the United States, Russia, and Britain with steady rises by India and heavy military investment by China.

"In a book published in 1983, Norman Augustine, a luminary of the aerospace industry, drafted a series of lighthearted “laws”. In one aphorism, he plotted the exponential growth of unit cost for fighter aircraft since 1910 (see chart 2), and extrapolated it to its absurd conclusion:

“In the year 2054, the entire defence budget will purchase just one aircraft. This aircraft will have to be shared by the Air Force and Navy 3½ days each per week except for leap year, when it will be made available to the Marines for the extra day.”

Nearly three decades on, Mr Augustine says, “we are right on target. Unfortunately nothing has changed.” These days Raptors go for $160m apiece ($350m including the cost of developing the jet), compared with $50m-60m for the venerable F-16. In the long run, high unit costs must limit numbers." [The Economist] [Defense Tech]


Secret Chinese Satellite Rendezvous in Space:

"Earlier this month, two Chinese satellites met up in orbit. Depending on who you believe, it’s either a sign of China’s increasingly-sophisticated space program — or a sign of its increasingly-sophisticated space warfare program... [as these] performed maneuvers [indicate] a cutting edge procedure called non-cooperative robotic rendezvous... This kind of rendezvous can have extremely useful, and benign, applications: removing space debris, refueling satellites or repairing craft in orbit. But the military apps are massive, and include up-close inspection of foreign satellites, espionage — and the infliction of some serious damage to adversarial space infrastructure..." [Danger Room]

The True Backbone of Chinese Technology: Lixin Fan [Last Train Home]

"... The wave is made up of millions of migrant factory workers. The homes they seek are the rural villages and families they left behind to seek work in the booming coastal cities. It is an epic spectacle that tells us much about China, a country discarding traditional ways as it hurtles towards modernity and global economic dominance...." [Business Insider]


Does defensive modernization work in the 21st century? What do you think.... ? What are the internal and domestic costs...?