Over the last few weeks, we have seen President Donald Trump pivot on his support for Ukraine in terms of sending long-range missiles and other munitions.
Trump has also just promised missiles to forces in Japan, suggesting that domestic weapons production is actually ahead of schedule.
Conflicting with that, however, was a report from Politico, which suggested that the United States has been stretched too thin in its military production capabilities. That, along with worker strikes, has put America in jeopardy of running out of munitions.
If you recall, I have stated several times that having the United States fighting wars on multiple fronts represents a major concern due to the rapid draining of our military assets that results.
We have been sending weapons to Ukraine to fight against Russia, as well as sending weapons to Israel for its war against Hamas. All the while, we also have other allies who are either getting aid or purchasing weapons from our stockpiles.
When Trump pivoted on sending Ukraine Tomahawk missiles, it got my ears up, even though the president suggested that the decision was borne from his belief that the war would be over soon, stating, "Hopefully, we'll be able to get the war over without thinking about Tomahawks. I think we're fairly close to that.”
Now, I have long thought that Russia’s strategy in the war was not only to beat Ukraine, but that there was a much larger purpose at play, namely, to drain American military assets for a possible secondary move against the United States.
Trump is on a tour of Asia at present, and his trip started with a visit to Japan.
On Tuesday, Trump visited with U.S. troops aboard USS George Washington at Japan’s Yokosuka Naval Base, assuring them that more supplies were on the way. He promised that the first batch of missiles for Japan’s F-35 fighter jets “will arrive this week,” which would put production ahead of schedule.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who was recently elected to office, stated that her country is "committed to fundamentally reinforcing its defense capability" and "ready to contribute even more proactively to peace and stability in the region."
It will be interesting to see how her time as PM plays out, as she is extremely conservative during a time when the woke crowd is gaining grip in Japan.
This all brings us to the aforementioned report in Politico, indicating that we are running dangerously low on assets for a variety of reasons.
The report, in part, stated, “Something is going wrong on the assembly lines of America’s arsenal of democracy, and it’s happening at a moment of crisis. The White House, Pentagon and America’s overseas allies are all demanding that defense companies ramp up production to meet the needs of a dangerous geopolitical moment. America is running short of missiles, munitions and battleships.”
One of the biggest issues cited in the report is that defense companies are more focused on using revenues to pay dividends than on hiring more staff to meet the demands of their contracts. The report stated, “Last year, for example, Lockheed Martin gave $6.8 billion in buybacks and dividends directly to its shareholders, which amounted to nearly 10 percent of the company’s total revenue and was larger than the $5.3 billion it kept in profits. The same year, RTX (formerly called Raytheon) paid $3.7 billion to shareholders, General Dynamics paid $3 billion and Northrop Grumman paid $3.7 billion. The billions of dollars they send back shareholders each year means that there is less money to go toward paying, hiring or retaining their employees.”
Something has to be done about this. I am all for companies making a profit, but this goes well beyond that, tangibly risking national security. When the United States is involved in conflicts on multiple fronts, supply has to take precedence.
