The US military industry needs to build capacity to be able to supply not only the US military but also partners such as Ukraine and Taiwan.
Senior Pentagon officials recently invited US defense industry leaders to discuss the need to replenish stockpiles of weapons sent to Ukraine through Russian aggression. This, as well as the growing threat from China, requires the US military industry to plan for the production and maintenance of weapons.
But its capabilities are not enough for the era that began with Vladimir Putin's war, – writes in the pages of The Hill former US ambassador to the UN and former second deputy Minister of Defense in charge of political planning Zalmay Khalilzad.
He writes that sending two specific defense systems has severely reduced US supplies. The United States has sent 33% of its Javelin anti-tank missiles and 25% of its Stinger anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine. The Pentagon has rightly said that it is time to replenish these systems, and it is better to replace them with new and more efficient models. And since the end of the war in Ukraine is not in sight, we can conclude that the need for supplies will remain or even increase.
The set of systems that will be sent to Ukraine, too, is likely to change over time. The Ukrainian president is already asking for multiple rocket launchers, helicopters and drones. To use these weapons effectively, Ukrainians will need training and restraint assistance. The United States and/or NATO will need to organize quickly to carry out this mission. A Military Assistance Command may be established to train and support Ukrainian forces. The move will also help coordinate replenishment operations between allies. But the signal to the US military-industrial complex must go beyond replenishing what has been sent to Ukraine.
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“After the Russian invasion, we found ourselves in an unfortunate and tough global era. Unprovoked aggression has brought a sea of changes to the international security environment. These changes require a major expansion of our military-industrial base to meet four urgent needs, “the author writes.
The first is to replenish allies and partners. They, too, have already handed over a significant percentage of their weapons stockpiles and feel the same urgent need to replenish their depots. The Russian invasion was a lesson to Europeans about the security environment on their continent and collective defense. Ironically, Finland and Sweden now want to join NATO. And other countries, including Germany, are willing to spend much more on defense. And that's very good. Willingness to renew defense spending will result in the purchase of new and more powerful weapons to replace old and inefficient systems.
“Our military-industrial base must be prepared to help them achieve this important goal,” Khalilzad said.
Second, the failure of the Russian military in Ukraine will force anyone who relies on Russian systems (such as India) to reconsider their investments and future purchases. In addition, G7 sanctions against Russia will undermine its ability to supply weapons in quantities such as Moscow had hoped, or to provide spare parts for systems it has already sold. This creates an opportunity to reduce India's dependence on Russian weapons in key areas. India's dependence on Russian-made fighters, missiles and air defense systems has led to its mixed reactions to Russia's defiant aggression. Reducing the dependence of key countries on Russia should determine both our strategy and our military-industrial policy plans.
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Third, the war in Ukraine has significantly increased the importance of Saudi Arabia's ability to increase oil production. Joe Biden's team has a cool relationship with Riyadh. Unlike the previous administration, the White House diplomatically kept Saudi Arabia at arm's length and even delayed or canceled the sale of several weapons systems. Now the administration is urgently trying to reset this relationship. A key component of this reset will be an increase in arms supplies to help Saudi Arabia deal with threats from Iran and its puppets, especially the Hussites, who have carried out more than 800 attacks on the kingdom, including attacks on major cities.
Fourth, Russia's war against Ukraine has affected security and geopolitical calculations outside Europe. The countries of the Indo-Pacific region are now facing the problem of a potential conflict involving China or the DPRK in their region, which may begin unnoticed. The result will be catastrophic. This sheds light on the urgent need to deploy weapons in Taiwan to protect them in the event of Chinese aggression. Unlike Ukraine, replenishing Taiwan's weapons stockpiles will be extremely difficult during the war, given the country's island geography. The White House has not been enthusiastic about selling American weapons to Taiwan. That must change. Supplying Taiwan's naval helicopters will be an important first step.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine requires a significant change in the tone and pace of US foreign arms sales. Ukraine has shown that allies and partners need military capabilities to protect themselves from undeclared aggression. Such opportunities would provide deterrence. The US military-industrial base is an important tool and bulwark against the numerous security threats facing both the country and its partners.
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“The confident restructuring and renewal of the supply chain requires us to stay at the forefront of innovation and redouble our commitment and investment in research and development,” he said. and the private sector will provide deeper investment in the production capacity of key US manufacturers. The increase in production should be accompanied by a decrease in dependence on foreign suppliers, which can create undesirable problems in the event of a prolonged regional crisis or conflict.
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