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| -Land of the Free |
| The U.S. Defense Industrial Base-It's Worse Than You Thought-For Example-Newport News is the only shipyard that can make U.S. aircraft carriers. |
| 2023-12-15 |
| [RealClearDefense] Not what you thought it was and not what it needs to be The Russian invasion of Ukraine, along with increased tensions in the Middle East and the Indo-Pacific region, has generated many debates. Debates about the stability of the international order, the cohesion of NATO, and many others. But for the United States, one significant debate regards the size and expansibility of the American defense industrial base. It’s a discussion that is well past due. Last year, Under Secretary of Defense Colin Kahl testified to Congress that, “What the Ukraine conflict showed is that, frankly, our defense industrial base was not at the level that we needed it to be to generate munitions.” But the challenge with ammunition is more symptom than cause, in economic terms something of a “leading indicator.” The ammunition shortage reflects the reality of a production base that over the past thirty years has shrunk from sixteen to five ammunition plants. But that is merely a specific reflection of a general concern applicable to aircraft, surface ships, submarines, missiles, and ground combat vehicles. Simply put, the basic question is this: Is the current American defense industrial base large enough? And if not, what should we do about it? Let’s go back to the origins of an enduring myth – the enormous size of the American “military industrial complex.” When President Dwight Eisenhower gave his farewell address in January 1961, his comments included the caution, “we must guard against the acquisition of un-warranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex.” Although Eisenhower also cautioned against a lack of military preparedness, his “military-industrial complex” comment became the line for which the speech is remembered. And despite the passage of more than sixty years, the phrase has endured even though the “complex” itself has not. At the time of Eisenhower’s speech some fifteen companies in the Fortune 100 were engaged in the defense effort. But, as a group, those fifteen were operating at a loss as the companies and their pentagon customers were still finding a moving “price point.” The defense business had changed after World War II, shifting from a largely government domain – now known as the “arsenal system” -- to the commercial sector. Tellingly, Eisenhower’s first two defense secretaries, Charles Wilson, and Neil McElroy, were former corporate executives. When President Ronald Reagan initiated his “defense build-up” in 1981, the defense industrial base had experienced enormous growth. There were over forty major companies engaged in it, fourteen of them able to design and manufacture high-performance military aircraft. Today there are only three. Since the end of the Cold War, the American defense industrial base has compressed from those forty or more firms down to five, driven by changing strategic circumstances and federal budget priorities. The 2023 Fortune data finds that in its top 100 there are only three firms listed in the Aerospace and Defense (A&D) sector – Raytheon Technologies, Boeing, and Lockheed Martin. In the larger Fortune 500 there are eight, and in the Fortune 1000 there are sixteen. |
| Posted by:NoMoreBS |
| #10 "The Kaiser shipyards in Richmond are not being used. Shouldn’t take too much to fire them back up if we have a need," Where is the people to build them? The next USN frigate will be an Italian design because US just keep making Arleigh Burke destroyers for 40 years, it is after all a 1980's design and lost know-how to design a frigate/destroyer. |
| Posted by: Spomonter Speaking for Boskone8031 2023-12-15 23:10 |
| #9 Drone bombing of tanks and armored vehicles is certainly taking a toll. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2023-12-15 13:38 |
| #8 Missiles are about to make ships horrendously obsolete floating foxholes. |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2023-12-15 12:48 |
| #7 Fact is, the US can barely build ships at all anymore. |
| Posted by: ed in texas 2023-12-15 09:06 |
| #6 Revived alliance brings US forces back to Subic Bay in the Philippines |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2023-12-15 08:45 |
| #5 ....Building them? Where the hell will we REPAIR them? HINT: Ain't gonna be NN. Mike |
| Posted by: MikeKozlowski 2023-12-15 08:12 |
| #4 I can see it now, some "Save The Sea Weed" Eco-Freaks, will demand it be shutdown. Then, Biden will direct the US Navy to have it built by Communist China. Hunter will be the point man for the building. |
| Posted by: NN2N1 2023-12-15 06:59 |
| #3 I assumed that they were remote working. There used to be a good Rugby Pub down there. The neighborhood is sort of upscale. Skid row is not too far. There is room for the requisite dive bars, strip clubs and tattoo parlors. Planning note - all the drawings might need Spanish versions and versions that can be read by someone with 3rd grade reading capabilities. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2023-12-15 06:11 |
| #2 ^Where would you take the trained tech people? |
| Posted by: Grom the Reflective 2023-12-15 06:00 |
| #1 Last I saw from the Dirty Harry movies, the Kaiser shipyards in Richmond are not being used. Shouldn’t take too much to fire them back up if we have a need, |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2023-12-15 05:52 |