As the U.S. military dismantles the Iranian regime's power structure, the ongoing campaign serves as a brutal reminder that air superiority remains a cornerstone of modern warfare.

But the reckless depletion of U.S. weapon stockpiles in the Middle East is not sustainable – it actively undermines America's ability to deter opportunistic moves by near-peer rivals, namely Russia and China, elsewhere.

While Vladimir Putin remains entrenched in a costly war of attrition in Ukraine, where Russia has suffered horrendous losses since 2022, an increasingly assertive Xi Jinping is actively probing defenses in the Western Pacific – with the People's Republic spoiling for a fight.

In the only major armed conflict pitting the U.S. directly against China, air superiority was arguably the decisive factor in preventing a catastrophic defeat for the American side. Twice, no less.

In the first instance, a better armed and trained North Korean military launched a surprise invasion of South Korea in June 1950, driving their rival army into the southeast corner of the peninsula. Only superior U.S. air power prevented annihilation of the "Pusan Perimeter."

In the second, once Chinese troops poured across the Yalu River to join the fight – ultimately sending millions –  it was again U.S. air superiority that prevented the numerically superior communist forces from overrunning the peninsula. The resulting stalemate and demilitarized zone........

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