Russia-Ukraine War: The ongoing war in Ukraine has revealed extensive problems in the American armaments industry, which may be an obstacle for the American military to fight a full-scale war against China, as reported today (Monday) on the American “Wall Street Journal” website. According to the report, the White House’s unprecedented arms shipments and military aid to Ukraine exposed the strategic danger facing the US, when the stockpile of weapons has fallen to a low amount and defense companies are not enough to renew it.
In a study done by Seth Jones, senior vice president at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, further revealed the problem the US is in. According to the study, the industrial and security base in the US does not involve “the current security environment”. According to him, “the industry operates in a way that is more adapted to the environment in peacetime.” The study also reflected concerns among senior military, congressional and other government officials that ammunition would run out more quickly in a potential war with China in the Far East. According to Jones, “How can you effectively deter China if you don’t have enough stocks of the ammunition you need?”.
For more than 20 years, the US has fought in Iraq, Afghanistan and other places, but according to what is written in the newspaper, the war in Ukraine is based more on heavy weapons. A potential war with China will be different from the war in Ukraine, but still they will have to make deep use of the American weapons stockpiles The report also claims that “these deficiencies will make it very difficult for the US to wage a protracted war. The industrial and security base of the US does not have the ability to wage a long war, the rate of weaponry of the Ukrainians demonstrates the challenges facing the US in the event of a war in the Far East.” . For example, the number of Stinger anti-aircraft systems supplied to Kiev in the recent period is equal to the number of systems exported to other countries in all of the last 20 years.
The study noted that “the history of industrial mobilization indicates that it will take years for the defense base to produce and deliver sufficient quantities of critical weapons systems and ammunition to recoup the capital of the used inventory.” Military leaders have also expressed growing frustration with the industrial base in recent months, with Admiral Daryl Caudle, commander of the US Naval Forces Command, calling on the defense industry to delay the supply of arms to Kiev.
As I recall, it was announced on the CNN network that the US is disturbed by the military strengthening of China, which continues to work to increase its naval fleet. Sam Tangardi, a senior lecturer at the War College said that “in naval warfare, the larger fleet almost always wins.” The Chinese Navy surpassed the US Navy in size during the year 2020, and now has no less than 340 warships, while the US Navy has less than 300. In China, it is estimated that the fleet will grow to 400 warships in the next two years, and in the US they hope that the technological advantage will play in their favor.