Major weaknesses
While the conflict in Ukraine was characterized by very intense ground fighting, a form of the war That seems archaic in the age of drone wars and artificial intelligence, an investigation stated "Financial Times" The huge amount of ammunition required for this type of conflict revealed weaknesses within the US defense industry, most notably:
- The defense industry from "Conservative approach to production during peacetime".
- Although there are only 5 defense contractors for the Pentagon, the network of companies in supply chains Their own "Broad, complex and fragile".
- production intensification Javelin HIMARS and GMLRS systems is complex and time consuming.
And highlighted "Financial Times" Detailed maps of the vast network of supply chains.
For example, the Hemars GMLRS is connected to plants across 141 different US cities, while Javelin is being built in 16 states.
And the transfer of the investigation of the Director of Technology andNational Security In the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) Martin Rasser, as saying that "The conflict in Ukraine was an important wake-up call for decision makers in the Pentagon. What we are looking for is the need for a new industrial policy for the defense industrial base.".
Experts hired by the investigation say the United States will likely struggle to supply its allies if another major conflict, such as the Ukraine war, erupts in parallel. "Possible Chinese military aggression Taiwan"The ability of the United States to defend itself may be at risk in such an event. A source close to the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defense says: "At some point, yes, we will reach crisis levels with simultaneous conflicts".
manufacturing strategy
American defense companies operate according to a strategy "Just-in-time manufacturing" based on contracts.
considered Pentagon He is technically the only customer, as sales flow to other countries through the federal government, while orders around the world tend to be low in peacetime, and he pushes those companies to a strategy "Lean manufacturing".
And since the beginning of the war in UkraineThe Pentagon has been direct with the companies, says a person familiar with the government’s discussions with defense executives, who told them they weren’t up to the task of production right now.
The rapid consolidation of the defense industry (from 51 major contractors in the 1990s to just five today) has protected the US defense industrial base from indolence, on the grounds that if control of supply chains were in the hands of fewer companies, there would be limited recourse if one failed. Suppliers in providing an important part.
But the big five defense contractors are interdependent, each supplies others in different programs, and they all have their own suppliers (Lockheed Martin, for example, has at least 110 subcontractors), which means that one problem is a problem for all.
Intensifying production is not an easy process
The newspaper points out that intensifying production is not an easy task, as it means building new facilities and hiring more workers.
Lockheed Martin for example, faced with the current demand, has spent nearly a billion dollars on small and medium suppliers to make sure they have the liquidity they need to continue operating."says COO Frank St. John.
It also invested about 65 million US dollars to manufacture Hemars To reduce lead times and increase production.
Despite this, at the beginning of last year, Lockheed Martin, for example, was producing at a rate of 48 Himars annually, and now it is reaching a rate of 60, while reaching the target rate of 90 will take another 18 to 24 months.
Obstacles to increasing production
Operations to increase production face a number of simultaneous challenges mentioned by the investigation, including:
- Each company in the Big Five supply chain is dealing with multiple crises, parts scarcity, and staffing issues.
- There is a shortage of microelectronics and drives rockets explosives and so on.
- The production challenge stems from the fact that orders Pentagon For weapons do not correspond between peacetime and war.
- The United States is chronically underinvesting in munitions, which means the Pentagon often doesn’t have enough to go into conflict.
- Despite the pressure, experts say the current US industrial capacity should be able to supply Ukraine with the weapons it needs and replenish stocks. Pentagon short term.
- But if the course of the Ukraine war changes or another conflict emerges, some say the ability of the United States to defend itself or arm its allies will be at stake.
What if a confrontation with China breaks out?
In this context, the scenario of a confrontation with China in particular raises American concerns, as Beijing is the military preoccupation of the United States, apart from Russia.
The investigation quoted an expert as saying that "Once the conflict over Taiwan begins, it will be more dangerous than the war in Ukraine (..) There is great concern about the ability of the United States to fight an actual war of this kind".
While it is unlikely that Javelin had a role in the defense TaiwanPortable small arms such as Stinger missiles could prove lethal against Chinese aircraft.
The paper also quoted a person familiar with the government’s discussions with defense chiefs as saying "We need to produce more of these old school weapons for Taiwan to fight China.
What do defense companies want?
Quincy Institute researcher William Hartung comments:
- exploited US defense industry the moment of the Ukrainian crisis to press for many of the things they have wanted for years; Expanded production and faster approval of foreign sales and long-term contracts.
- Inflating the size of the defense industrial base in anticipation of a future conflict with China It will lead to permanent expansion, as, for example, local politicians will argue to protect jobs in new arms factories.
Sharing the burden
- The newspaper concluded its investigation by noting that the United States is not the only country that sends weapons to Ukraine, and therefore, the challenge of production is a common challenge, because the Ukraine war was a wake-up call for many Western countries that cut defense spending after the Cold War, and moved, such as United Stateto production just in time.
- Thus one of the solutions that has been put forward is co-production, which involves training companies in allied countries to produce weapons systems or components thereof.
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The newspaper said in its investigation that the weapons it obtained Ukraine It helped change the course of the war and enabled the army to withstand and repel the Russian forces, but on the other hand, weaknesses within the US defense industry were revealed in a remarkable way.
Major weaknesses
While the conflict in Ukraine was characterized by very intense ground fighting, a form of the war Which seems outdated in the era of drone wars and artificial intelligence, the “Financial Times” investigation stated that the huge amount of munitions required for this type of conflict revealed weaknesses within the US defense industry, most notably:
- The defense industry proceeds from a “conservative approach to peacetime production”.
- Although there are only 5 defense contractors for the Pentagon, the network of companies in supply chains Theirs is “broad, complex and fragile”.
- production intensification Javelin HIMARS and GMLRS systems is complex and time consuming.
The Financial Times has detailed maps of the sprawling network of supply chains.
For example, the Hemars GMLRS is connected to plants across 141 different US cities, while Javelin is being built in 16 states.
And the transfer of the investigation of the Director of Technology andNational Security In the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) Martin Rasser, saying that “the conflict in Ukraine was an important wake-up call for decision-makers in the Pentagon, that what we are looking for is the need for a new industrial policy for the defense industrial base.”
The experts hired by the investigation say that the United States will likely struggle to supply its allies if another major conflict erupts in parallel with the Ukraine war, such as “possible Chinese military aggression on Taiwan“At some point, yes, we will reach crisis levels with simultaneous conflicts,” says a source close to the State and Defense Departments.
manufacturing strategy
US defense companies operate on a “just-in-time” strategy based on contracts.
considered Pentagon He is technically the only customer, as sales flow to other countries through the federal government, while orders around the world tend to be low in peacetime, and he is pushing those companies for a “lean manufacturing” strategy.
And since the beginning of the war in UkraineThe Pentagon has been direct with the companies, says a person familiar with the government’s discussions with defense executives, who told them they weren’t up to the task of production right now.
The rapid consolidation of the defense industry (from 51 major contractors in the 1990s to just five today) has protected the US defense industrial base from indolence, on the grounds that if control of supply chains were in the hands of fewer companies, there would be limited recourse if one failed. Suppliers in providing an important part.
But the big five defense contractors are interdependent, each supplies others in different programs, and they all have their own suppliers (Lockheed Martin, for example, has at least 110 subcontractors), which means that one problem is a problem for all.
Intensifying production is not an easy process
The newspaper points out that intensifying production is not an easy task, as it means building new facilities and hiring more workers.
Lockheed Martin for example, faced with current demand, has spent close to $1 billion on small and medium suppliers to make sure they have the cash they need to continue operating,” says COO Frank St. John.
It also invested about 65 million US dollars to manufacture Hemars To reduce lead times and increase production.
Despite this, at the beginning of last year, Lockheed Martin, for example, was producing at a rate of 48 Himars annually, and now it is reaching a rate of 60, while reaching the target rate of 90 will take another 18 to 24 months.
Obstacles to increasing production
Operations to increase production face a number of simultaneous challenges mentioned by the investigation, including:
- Each company in the Big Five supply chain is dealing with multiple crises, parts scarcity, and staffing issues.
- There is a shortage of microelectronics and drives rockets explosives and so on.
- The production challenge stems from the fact that orders Pentagon For weapons do not correspond between peacetime and war.
- The United States is chronically underinvesting in munitions, which means the Pentagon often doesn’t have enough to go into conflict.
- Despite the pressure, experts say the current US industrial capacity should be able to supply Ukraine with the weapons it needs and replenish stocks. Pentagon short term.
- But if the course of the Ukraine war changes or another conflict emerges, some say the ability of the United States to defend itself or arm its allies will be at stake.
What if a confrontation with China breaks out?
In this context, the scenario of a confrontation with China in particular raises American concerns, as Beijing is the military preoccupation of the United States, apart from Russia.
The investigation quoted an expert as saying that “once the conflict over Taiwan begins, it will be a more serious matter than the war in Ukraine (..) There is great concern about the ability of the United States to fight an actual war of this kind.”
While it is unlikely that Javelin had a role in the defense TaiwanPortable small arms such as Stinger missiles could prove lethal against Chinese aircraft.
The newspaper also quoted a person familiar with the government’s discussions with defense leaders as saying, “We need to produce more of these old-school weapons to provide to Taiwan to fight China.
What do defense companies want?
Quincy Institute researcher William Hartung comments:
- exploited US defense industry the moment of the Ukrainian crisis to press for many of the things they have wanted for years; Expanded production and faster approval of foreign sales and long-term contracts.
- Inflating the size of the defense industrial base in anticipation of a future conflict with China It will lead to permanent expansion, as, for example, local politicians will argue to protect jobs in new arms factories.
Sharing the burden
- The newspaper concluded its investigation by noting that the United States is not the only country that sends weapons to Ukraine, and therefore, the challenge of production is a common challenge, because the Ukraine war was a wake-up call for many Western countries that cut defense spending after the Cold War, and moved, such as United Stateto production just in time.
- Thus one of the solutions that has been put forward is co-production, which involves training companies in allied countries to produce weapons systems or components thereof.
