If you watch this channel, you can get a handle on what the US military tech bros are up to because basically they need investors and they have to publicize what they doing in hopes of getting money. What you can infer what's going on is they're literally using what Chinese technology they can get their hands on to make their prototypes they can't develop on their own in order to win US military contracts hoping the government pays the bill to then get the money to make the Chinese components at home. So they're stealing technology like how they accuse China.
The guy's company on this video is about swarm drones. He even says that he wanted to see what was out there in the world on swarm drones. What popped up on the internet were all these videos of Chinese drone shows and he was shocked. He just started his business on swarm drones and didn't know this was already out there? I use to joke and it was literally true that whatever military development happens in China, it'll take at least three years until someone in mainstream military journalism circles in the West hears about it to then determine if it's good enough to report it. A lot of it is just denial because they want to believe they're still ahead and more advanced. But then it shocks them when they hear about things like the J-36. They knock it because they can't claim it was stolen from them therefore they'll believe it doesn't work at all because you know the US is only one that make things work. Then they'll display their ignorance saying it can't be stealthy because it's so big. Bigger than a B-2 which they'll claim looks like the size of a marble on radar...?
This discussion suggests and already implies the US is already doing it where they have dummy private companies set up around the world buying Chinese technology as much as they can to supply their needs. That's why it's a joke when Americans think they can set up their own domestic industries as an alternative to China in anything.