I think the Ukraine conflict is a work in progress test case using the Ukrainians as fodder.
Apart from MIC getting their sales I think they are monitoring the drone warfare pros and cons and who knows what they are devising with new funding in terms of new autonomous weaponry.
Obviously China has the nuclear weapons and people but do not underestimate the egos of the elite and their imagination thinking technology might give them some advantage in any conflict
The use of propaganda and alliances is important for USA because they need to plunder whether it be Sri Lanka or somewhere else they want others to do the heavy lifting like colonisation