America’s Military Isn’t Providing Enough Bang for the Buck
By BING WEST
April 27, 2024 6:30 AM
The Pentagon’s procurement culture of regulations and massive, slow-moving corporations simply has not kept pace with the commoditization of high tech.
In the summer of 1944, German V1 drones attacked London, forcing the British to spend four times more on defense. Fortunately, already on the road to defeat, Germany could not exploit its advantage. Fast forward to April of 2024. As happened in 1944, the Iranian launch against Israel of 300 drones and missiles resulted in a disproportionate defense in terms of resources expended. Israeli costs were estimated at $550 million, with the American defensive screen of F-15 aircraft, destroyers, and Patriot anti-missile systems costing at least as much. This same disproportion pertains to the Red Sea, where in the past six months, the U.S. Navy has expended $1 billion, firing $2 million missiles to shoot down Iranian Shahed drones costing $20,000. You can’t prevail in a major war when the defense costs multiple times more than the offense.
How did we get into this situation? In WWII, America was the arsenal of democracy, unmatched at fast mass production. About 300,000 aircraft were built in two and a half years. Beginning in the ’80s, the American way of war shifted from mass production to high tech; precision replaced bulk. Finely engineered drones, with apposite names like Predator, tracked terrorists down crowded streets and obliterated them without harming passersby, while command centers and the White House watched in real-time.
https://www.nationalreview.com/2024/04/americas-military-isnt-providing-enough-bang-for-the-buck/
