US Industry Cannot Replace Likely Losses In Major Conflict

During the Cold War, from the Korean War onwards, the American authorities permanently maintained a very high industrial defense capacity designed to be able to compensate for the destruction of equipment in the event of a major conflict, so as to maintain a constant fighting forces even over time. Since the 90s, between the euphoria caused by the implosion of the Soviet bloc and the radical victory against Iraq, US industrial planning has gradually moved away from this notion, structuring itself with the certainty that the wars in coming would be short, distant and with a small footprint on the materials. At the same time, China meticulously applied the American Cold War industrial strategy, and today has much greater industrial capacity than the United States, giving the PLA much better resilience to engagement in the United States. the duration.

It is on the basis of this observation that the Center for Strategic and International Studies, an American Think Tank, a study on the real capabilities of the Defense Industry today to support a long-term commitment, and the conclusions are far from encouraging, without being surprising, however. Thus, it would take on average 8,5 years of industrial production to replace the equipment currently in service. But this figure masks very significant disparities, since it would only take 3 1/2 years to replace the logistical capacities of the US armies, while it would take more than 20 years to renew the US Navy fleet, even that. while significant weaknesses had already been identified in repair capabilities. Indeed, in the event of a major conflict, the destruction of a ship should be considered "final", a constant in stark contrast to American Cold War doctrine.

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