A new high-profile United States (U.S.) defense report has revealed that the Pentagon could run out of ammunition within “three to four weeks” in a protracted war with China.
The 114-page report, released on Monday by a bipartisan panel appointed by Congress, issued an urgent warning that the U.S. is unprepared for sustained conflict with either China or Russia, let alone both at the same time.
Many of his estimates are based on previously published material. Still, the review condenses a series of recent revelations and dozens of testimony from officials into a formal recommendation for the U.S. to increase defense spending and focus its forces.
Ammunition stocks are particularly lacking, said the eight-member panel, which included a retired general, a former Democratic congresswoman and a former U.S. ambassador.
They cited a 2022 report by two analysts at the Center for National Security that said the U.S. does not have enough weapons to “stun and defeat an initial invasion” by powers like China.
Commission members added that this shortfall persisted even after the U.S. recently stepped up production of weapons to supply Ukraine.
“As a result, unclassified public war games suggest that, in a conflict with China, the U.S. would greatly deplete its ammunition stockpile in just three to four weeks,” their report said.
Some important munitions, such as anti-ship missiles, could only last a few days, the commission warned. Commission members said stockpiles among America’s allies were also a concern. As an example, they cited the Royal United Services Institute’s 2022 Report on the War in Ukraine.
The report states: “At the height of the fighting in Donbas, Russia spent more ammunition in two days than the entire British army has in stock2:
The defense industry very inadequate even in peacetime conditions
The U.S. panel warned that defense production as a whole was in poor shape, saying the wider industry did not have the capacity to meet national needs even in peacetime.
“American industrial production is woefully inadequate to provide the equipment, technology, and ammunition needed today, let alone the demands of a major power conflict,” their report said.
More generally, they warned of a number of shortcomings in the U.S., including the need for better career incentives for military recruits, a large research and development process and a slow, bureaucratic Department of Defense.
“Fundamental shifts in threats and technology require fundamental changes in the way the Department of Defense operates,” the report said.
The commission proposed several major changes to the way the U.S. plans defense.
One is an “all elements of national power” strategy that includes the private and civilian sectors. This largely mirrors what China is doing with its own defense industry – relying on civilian companies and state-owned conglomerates to work alongside its military and prepare for war, Klix.ba writes.
E.Dz.
