Rosie the CNC Machinist: American Manufacturing as a Warfare Domain
Joe Duggan
November 14, 2018
For want of a nail the shoe was lost;
For want of a shoe the horse was lost;
For want of a horse the rider was lost;
For want of a rider the battle was lost;
For want of a battle the kingdom was lost;
All for the want of a horseshoe nail.
What would happen if demand for Alcoa’s 50,000-ton press were to double overnight? Since 1955, the United States has owned exactly one machine with that capacity, and as recently as 2012, it was necessary to produce every single manned aircraft used by the U.S. military or manufactured by Boeing. It weighs 16 million pounds. Making a second or third just to have for excess capacity, is not feasible. There are many examples like this throughout the U.S. defense industry, presenting a chilling fact: Production capacity cannot rapidly adapt to the giant production demand increases associated with great power wars.
The U.S. government is addressing this problem, which is raised in the National Security Strategy. Early in October, an executive branch task force published a report on the U.S. defense industrial base, prompted by Executive Order 13806. What are the solutions? How can U.S. domestic manufacturing and supply chains sustain a great power war effort?
https://warontherocks.com/2018/11/rosie-the-cnc-machinist-american-manufacturing-as-a-warfare-domain/
