Posted on 07/14/2025 10:06:31 AM PDT by Kazan
We should never have given away the milk in the first place.
Mr. Colby is correct.
“This is not isolationism, it’s prioritization.”
*************
Yes, its a question of priorities. America First.
Self-preservation should be a very high priority. No exceptions.
I hope President Trump reads this point of view. He used to hold it himself.
What do you think of Pres Trump monetizing American arms industry by having Europe pay. Wouldn’t that also bring down unit cost?
This guy Johnston is full of used food.
We absolutely have an obligation to Israel. Ukraine also needs defensive weapons, given civilians are targets of Pooty Poot.
The USA—and the world—cannot afford to continue the Ukraine war. We need peace!
Then the USA can rebuild its military systems!
No. Not a neocon or forever war guy. Just asking about the economics
WIKI
Designer Raytheon, Hughes, and RCA
Designed 1969
Manufacturer Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, and Boeing
Domestic cost: About US$1.09 billion (FY 2022) for a battery; US$4 million for a single PAC-3 MSE missile
Export cost: About US$2.37–2.5 billion for a battery; US$6–10 million (FY 2018) for a single missile
Produced 1976–present
No. built
1,106 launchers in U.S. (483 were in service in 2010)
Over 250 launchers exported to 18 countries
Over 10,000 missiles manufactured
Specifications
Operational range 160 km (99 mi) (max)
Maximum speed
PAC-2 GEM+: 5,630 km/h (3,500 mph)
PAC-3: 6,170 km/h (3,830 mph)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIM-104_Patriot
NOTE: “Over 10,000 missiles manufactured”
Do you really want somebody else to taking America’s place as the largest manufacture and supplier of military weapons??
China and India would love to be the ones who take over that mantle.
A lot of it is due to the complexity of modern weapons systems but that complexity lends itself to each contractor retaining proprietary capabilities, which produces this arragnement of adversarial hierarchy.
So lets ramp up production of important weapons. Do this at warp speed. Putin is doing exactly this. He has mobilized and converted Russian industry to produce weapons for his Ukraine war and beyond. Weapons such as ammunition, artillery shells, drones, and many more. Even some new tanks, though this is very slow. Missiles too I am sure.
These days many Russian troops must go out and fight with no armor, no tanks, no personnel carriers. His troops have been using motorcycles and trucks to get to the front.
The articles in the MSM talk about Trump ‘resuming’ weapons awards to Ukraine, but Trump said he is selling some defensive weapons to NATO, and NATO can decide whether to give or sell them to Ukraine. So we’re not giving them away, we’re selling them. NATO must be a) livid and b) desperate.
Also, I tried to pin down what was being sent. There’s a news conference today so maybe it will be clearer after it, but for now it looks like Trump is selling NATO Patriot missiles, but not Patriot batteries.
I think NATO will be tempted to keep some of those weapon for itself given they suddenly feel the pressure to arm.
“It’s interesting to see that the Kremlin has ordered the destruction of mostly civilian targets, schools, hospitals, churches in Ukraine.”
from Google using the term ‘ukrainian arms production’:
The Wall Street Journal
https://www.wsj.com › world
May 18, 2025 — The value of weapons Ukraine’s defense industry can make has ballooned from $1 billion in 2022 to $35 billion over three years of war.
This guy Johnston is full of used food.“
4 sure, Trump was not caught “flat footed”
$37,102,557,920,603 US debt as of right now.
I find Elbridge Colby an interesting fellow. Similarities with Robert McNamara. He seems to have been gaming out a PRC takeover of Taiwan which he recently shared on the John Batchelor podcast. Worth a listen.
The Ukrainians need to move all potential targets far from built-up civilian areas.
Ukrainian arms production should be dispersed as much as possible to small buildings in conifer forests that Russian drones can’t reliably get to.
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