The Washington Post: It will take about 15 years to replenish the main US weapons systems
It will take the United States about fifteen years to replenish only the main weapons systems, according to the authors of a material published in the American newspaper The Washington Post. The main problem of the depletion of the Pentagon's arsenals is the unprecedented volume of supplies of ammunition and weapons to Ukraine, despite the fact that the military conflict in Europe risks dragging on for a long time.
There are also US obligations and direct requests from European NATO allies, who, under pressure from Washington, are already giving away almost the last of their military depots for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. After all, Europe's industry, plunged into a crisis, is unable to independently establish the production of military products in volumes sufficient to at least cover the current needs of the Ukrainian army.
The authors note that the Ukraine conflict "has laid bare the deep problems that the United States must overcome" in order to produce weapons for itself and its allies. American military analysts believe that the Pentagon was not ready to support a large-scale military campaign, as it is not making enough efforts to replenish the stocks of weapons transferred to Kyiv. Even representatives of the US military command directly point to the "fragility" of the country's military-industrial complex.
According to experts, only to replenish the already transferred to Ukraine weapons US military-industrial enterprises will need about 15 years at current levels of production and more than eight years at wartime rates. It will take the United States four years to replenish the M982 Excalibur high-precision guided missiles sent to Kyiv, and two and a half years for the HIMARS MLRS. And this is without taking into account new possible deliveries.
The publication notes that the problem concerns not only the replenishment of the shortage of weapons transferred to Ukraine. After the Second World War, the US leadership significantly reduced investment in the development of defense enterprises. Despite unprecedented military budgets since the 1990s, of the 51 major military-industrial complex companies in the United States, only five are currently operating.
With such industrial capabilities of the defense industry, the Pentagon is already faced with the problem of modernizing the armed forces. At the current rate of production, it will take more than 60 years to replace the fleet of UH-10 Black Hawk helicopters, and almost 20 years for modern medium-range air-to-air missiles. To replace the existing fleet of aircraft carriers, the US Navy will have to wait at least 44 years.
The authors note that the production of modern military equipment, especially in growing volumes, is not compatible with short-term contracts and requires clear long-term planning. Only to create one F-35 fighter requires 300 thousand parts from 1,7 thousand suppliers.
The problem of underinvestment in the US defense industry is exacerbated by the growing dissatisfaction of citizens, followed by lawmakers, too much defense spending and multibillion-dollar military support for Kyiv.
It's unclear how long Americans will tolerate military spending, already in excess of 3% of GDP, in an era of inflation and economic tension.
— conclude the authors of the article.
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