...in the military, one can have all the training and exercises, BUT the true test of capabilities would be in actual combat with opponent/s. The USAF, USN and other Western Air Forces have these experiences since WW II, and hostilities to date. Besides, pilots of these countries are way ahead in the training with advanced aircraft. But one should never underestimate the Chinese, or the Japanese and South Koreans Air Forces' capabilities in the future.
It might be said, that the true measure of a military is really in being so well trained, and so well prepared, that adversaries recognize the futility in fighting and so combat is not engaged.
In order for that to be the case, your training must be so realistic, and your capabilities in that regard so obvious and well known, and respected, that the adversaries see it and decide not to engage it.
That will not always hold...but it is the ideal.
I do not believe anyone is underestimating the Chinese. Their own history indicates that when engaged, they are dedicated and willing to do what they have to do to achieve their goals. In times past, people have understood that that would require huge human sacrifice because of a lag in technoilogical capability offset by huge numbes of personnel where the strategy would be to use those numbers to offset the other.
Now, however, the Chinese are to a point with their economy and with their finances and technical capabilities, that they are developing and adding the technical capabilities that are close to, or at parity with the leading technology. Any nation would be foolish to the point of derilection to underestimate what that can mean.
The PRC and the PLAN are demonstrating that very principle with how fast they are setting up their carrier operations and the underlying technology, infrastructure, and industry to support it. For us watching, ten years seems like a long time...but given the historical perspective, it is coming together very rapidly.
