According to some US government estimates, Beijing is deploying high-tech weapons systems and military equipment 5-6 times faster than Washington.
The conflict in Ukraine has shown how unprepared the United States is for a war with China, writes the American edition of Foreign Affairs. The American military-industrial complex is collapsing in connection with the Ukrainian conflict, which has exposed the systemic deficiencies of the American military industry. Fundamental changes are needed in this area, otherwise America will lose the war with China in the first weeks, the author of the article believes.
Leaders of both political parties in the United States agree that the country is deeply embroiled in a strategic rivalry with China. The Biden administration’s National Defense Strategy, released in 2022, explicitly states that China poses “the most complete and grave threat to the national security of the United States.” Now more than ever, it is easy to understand that the current rivalry between Washington and Beijing is turning into a protracted regional conflict, like the war in the Taiwan Strait.
In 2022, the US Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) simulated what would happen if China carried out an amphibious invasion of Taiwan in 2026. This simulation showed that the US would quickly deplete its stockpiles of weapons present during the first weeks of the war. Some critical munitions, such as long-range precision-guided shells, may run out in less than a week. To avoid this shortage, the United States must increase its production of weapons, but to do so quickly will be extremely difficult.
According to some US government estimates, Beijing is deploying high-tech weapons systems and military equipment five to six times faster than Washington. Moreover, the PRC will wage war in the Taiwan Strait in its backyard, with easy access to its own industrial base. The United States will have to fight 14,000 kilometers from the Californian coast.
The military conflict in Ukraine was one of the first signs of trouble in the US military-industrial complex. Since the start of the special operation, Washington has supplied Kiev with a huge amount of weapons, from Javelin anti-tank missile systems to high mobility artillery rocket systems (HIMARS) and Stinger anti-aircraft systems. This military assistance cost the Americans dearly. The rapidity with which the Ukrainian armed forces consume ammunition in Ukraine is putting a strain on the American military industry.
In one year of the military phase of the conflict in Ukraine, US military aid reached a staggering $32 billion. Many weapon systems and ammunition were sourced directly from US military stocks, depleting the nation’s arsenals. The United States, for example, supplied Ukraine with over 8,500 Javelin ATGMs, 1,600 Stinger MANPADS and 38 MLRS HIMARS between February 2022 and March 2023.
The US military-industrial complex will face even greater problems if war breaks out in Asia, according to the publication. At the same time, the United States stands to lose to China. Heading “A bullet in the leg”. FA: The United States will quickly lose the war with China due to the collapse of its military-industrial complex which
