We don't have the capability anymore. . .with reduced acquisitions our productions lines are closing.
“Infrastructure,” a vastly important aspect of the US arms business. At $543 billion, the defense budget falls short by nearly $31 billion in requested military expenditure.
This 9% budget shortfall is significant. Most budget expenditures are for maintenance, modifications, upgrades and personnel. . .not production, especially production of new platforms. Consequently, new product manufacturing and research and development are limited in scope.
This threatens the defense industrial manufacturing base.
A closed complex manufacturing facility such as the Boeing C-17 facility in Long Beach, for example, can’t easily be re-opened and produce kit quickly enough to arm/equip a nation under siege or engaged in a major conflict. Same with other aircraft, tanks, ships, etc. And, by the way, you can't take a washing machine manufacturing factory and re-tool to build a tank or airplane. Well, you can but it would take years and years and cost so much that it would be cheaper to build a new factory than re-tool.
Basically, a defense manufacturing facility simply can’t easily resume production within months, and may possibly takes years to become viable. That is physically, technically and fiscally impossible.
Research and Development (R&D) ensures the US possesses a qualitative edge in technology—and this edge is financed in part, a significant part, through foreign military sales.
FMS ensures R&D continues and the defense industry continues to produce modern, reliable and technologically relevant products. . .but not in any large number and is producing ‘test platforms,” not fully vetted combat-capable warfighting platforms.
So, cuts today have no relevance to pre-WWII manufacturing capability and the nature of the military today does not allow for shut-down/turn-on, re-tooling of a facility.
Spot on, no way they could build a warship in one month like they did in WW2 or an aircraft in a week or whatever it was.
The way everything is getting networked the training for new soldiers alone would be months and months.
“We don’t have the capability anymore. . .with reduced acquisitions our productions lines are closing.”
So? They weren’t open then, either. We had to create them.
“This 9% budget shortfall is significant.”
Requested. Not required. Do you always give someone everything they request? Didn’t think so.
“Research and Development (R&D) ensures the US possesses a qualitative edge in technology”
Yes, it does, and the budget they are to be given does not preclude R&D. It is still expected.
Our budget will never be cut with liberals always crying out for more: More education dollars, more defense dollars, more everything dollars.
I agree with your post, and it’s only one of probably 20 to 100 other possible good rejections of what is going on.
Saw this the other day and failed to comment on it then. In review now I would like to apologize, and say that I agree with your points here.
I was out of town for a couple of days, but I should have returned prior to this to tell you how much I appreciated your words of wisdom on this subject.