2024-07-31 18:25:39
The commission’s report identifies a number of factors that contribute to this threat.
First, increased cooperation between China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea significantly increases the likelihood of conflict on multiple fronts simultaneously. The United States will not be able to effectively counter so many military actions simultaneously. Moreover, China and Russia will coordinate their actions against America.
Second, the current state of the U.S. defense industrial base and rate of arms production lags far behind China. The report found that the U.S. defense industry has too few workers, too few companies, dwindling and unstable financial support, and limited manufacturing capacity.
The commission also emphasizes that U.S. munitions stockpiles would be quickly exhausted in a conflict. The U.S. would only be able to sustain combat for three to four weeks, and some critical munitions, such as anti-ship missiles, would run out in just a few days. It could take years to replenish those munitions.
Another major problem is the excessive bureaucracy of the U.S. defense system. Outdated equipment procurement programs, rigid ship maintenance standards, lack of permission to conduct more maintenance in foreign ports, and a reluctance to purchase weapons and supplies in bulk from other countries create significant obstacles. The International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) also adds to the difficulty.
The U.S. also faces the smallest military in a decade, historically low defense spending, and a weakened industry. The commission notes that the U.S. government system is too rigid to effectively attract private companies and startups to the defense industry, despite efforts to fix that.
Another factor is the US dependence on outdated military equipment and the Pentagon’s slow pace of technology upgrades. The US Navy’s ability to build, maintain and repair the necessary naval forces is seriously questionable.
The report also points to a dangerous concentration of U.S. Space Force satellites that should be dispersed and an uncertain future for the Air Force’s Next-Generation Air Dominance fighter.
Finally, the US Department of Defense’s defense strategy, developed before the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, no longer meets modern challenges.
As the report notes, all these problems have been accumulating for years and cannot be resolved in the shortest possible time.
Earlier, Cursor reported that China has set its sights on the hidden treasures of the ocean.