In light of the conflict in Ukraine, it became clear that the United States needed to increase spending on the modernization of the military industry. This was stated on February 16 by the columnist The Washington Post Roger Zackheim.
He noted that the American military industry operates on a just-in-time basis. It implies that products are produced only to meet existing demand. However, according to Zakheim, this could be an Achilles’ heel in US defense strategy.
“The conflict in Ukraine clearly shows that such an approach is a recipe for disaster on the battlefield. Whether it’s building more Virginia-class submarines, increasing munitions production, or building up a stockpile of missiles, “just in time” would mean “time is up.” The equipment must be ready long before the threat becomes imminent,” he wrote.
In this regard, according to Zackheim, defense spending should be increased to 5% of the United States GDP, since the country will have to “play catch-up” in order to increase its stockpiles of weapons.
“We must focus on preserving American peace and prosperity by building and maintaining the US military, which supports, as Reagan called, our “margin of safety” – the minimum forces necessary to achieve our strategic goals,” he added.
On the same day, the Financial Times reported that the conflict in Ukraine was depleting European weapons arsenals. According to the publication, there are practically no stocks left, and European factories are hardly able to produce the number of shells that Kyiv needs for a week of hostilities.
On February 15, The Washington Post reported that Western countries that promised to provide Ukraine with new NATO equipment would not be able to supply all of it at once due to logistical problems. In addition, the ammunition promised to Kyiv is simply not enough, in connection with which the NATO countries are trying to urgently increase production.
Also on that day, military expert Alexei Leonkov told Izvestia that NATO could not supply even more ammunition to Ukraine because its military-industrial complex (MIC) was not designed for such an intensive consumption of shells.
Western countries have stepped up military and financial support for Kyiv against the backdrop of a special operation of the Russian Federation to protect Donbass, the decision on which was made against the backdrop of aggravation in the region due to shelling by the Ukrainian military.
For more up-to-date videos and details about the situation in Donbass, watch the Izvestia TV channel.
