China's global reach is more than economic. Their military spending is now second only to the U-S.. and their expanding military is one reason President Trump called out China and Russia as rivals, to our interests and values. But in examining their impressive arsenal, we found some striking similarities to American weapons. Our Lisa Fletcher talked with a former top Pentagon official about the stolen secrets.
Lisa: The F-35 has taken more than 20 years and a trillion dollars to take flight. The high-tech … fifth-generation stealth aircraft is the latest and greatest for the u-s and its allies to have a competitive edge in the skies. That is until the Chinese unveiled their latest edition - the J-31.
Dr. Stephen Bryen: Well what emerged was that the Chinese came up with a couple of stealth fighters that look an awful lot like the F-35.
Doctor Stephen Bryen served as deputy undersecretary of defense at the pentagon. He like others claims the Chinese based their latest fighter jet off of American blueprints.
Lisa: What happened when the Chinese stole the F-35 plan?
Dr. Stephen Bryen: Well I mean this was a theft with intention. So the Chinese said you know if we're going to deal with the Americans on an equal basis we have to have stealthy aircraft. Well an easy place to do is to steal the American design copy it is exactly what they've done. So they built the J-20, which is already deployed.
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