The new spending plan comes as the Pentagon is examining ways to ensure the U.S. has enough weaponry to fight its own battles, especially as concerns grow about a potential conflict with China over Taiwan, while maintaining support for Ukraine.
"We are going through a study, an analysis right now, to ensure that our war plans, our contingency plans, which we have multiples around the world in different theaters, to make sure that we've done the right math, the right estimates," Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley said at an event on Tuesday, according to Reuters.
....The amount of weaponry provided to Ukraine and U.S. allies has strained the Pentagon’s ability to procure enough of some of these systems, thanks to a combination of budget crunches, reduced emphasis on them during 20 years of a counterterrorism fight in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere and a cumbersome supply chain, something you can read more about here.
Given all those concerns, the amount of time it will take to actually get these items into supply depots remains unknown, given the long procurement lead time and a defense industrial base already struggling to cope with demand. Expanding the ability to produce high-tech weaponry is very costly and anything but a quick process.
.....The war is now largely a grinding slog with few major territorial gains and increasing losses in personnel and equipment on both sides. Ukraine, however, is intent on pressing the gains it has made in the south and east, with an eye toward even retaking the Crimean peninsula Russia has occupied since 2014.
Its chances of succeeding in those endeavors would be greatly diminished with any significant reduction in aid from the U.S. and allies, so we will continue to watch how all this plays out.
