US War Surge Production Too Slow, CSIS Finds
19th January 2021
The United States could not make enough military equipment fast enough to sustain its military in the event of a major war. While much thought has been given to how a great power conflict might erupt or play out, far less has been written on how the U.S. industrial base could sustain U.S. wartime equipment losses in such a conflict.
Our study at the Center for Strategic and International Studies found that it would take many years to replace current inventories, even at surge production rates. And the situation is not getting better as industry consolidation has squeezed out excess capacity. The Navy would probably face the biggest problem. Each ship lost would be, effectively, irreplaceable during the conflict.