“We’re expending munitions faster than we can replenish them,” Gen. Mark Welsh said, according to an article in USA Today.

With the U.S. military conducting bombing missions in Iraq, Afghanistan, and in U.S.-led Operation Inherent Resolveagainst the self-titled Islamic State in Syria and elsewhere, it’s no wonder weapons-makers are unable to keep up. Allies have also been making use of those munitions — Saudi Arabia employed U.S.-made bombs in Yemen when it hit and killed an ambulance driver in January.

“The U.S. maintains a pretty steady inventory of bombs and missiles for full-on war scenarios,” explained Roman Schweizer, aerospace and defense policy analyst at Guggenheim Securities to PRI. “But 2 ½ years of fighting ISIS and continued bombing in Afghanistan have exceeded weapons-use projections.”

The spike in demand for weapons of war since the attacks in Paris have sent stock prices and arms sales through the roof.

As PRI noted, the munitions include “laser- and GPS-guided bombs, Joint Direct Attack Munition bombs, Joint Standoff Weapons, and air-to-ground missiles, such as Hellfire,” which can cost between $25,000 and $400,000 — per unit.

“In the early days of the [Syria] campaign the Navy fired a bunch of Tomahawk cruise missiles,” Schweizer continued,“and those are in the $1 million cost range — but they’re really the higher end of what you might use if you have a contested airspace and you don’t want to put aircraft over targets.”

Speaking specifically for the fight against ISIL, Schweizer explained, “Pilots are able to get close because you are not fighting a very sophisticated — albeit a brutal — enemy, and you’re able to use shorter range- but more precision-guided munitions.”

Precision is gravely important in reducing civilian casualties, though judging by the myriad of reports, the U.S. and its alliesseem to be having difficulties not killing innocent people. One startling report from October last year revealed 90 percent of those killed in drone strikes are innocent civilians.

“If we were in a state of war we’d be running three 8-hour shifts, 24 hours a day” to meet supply demands associated with war, Schweitzer said, noting Lockheed-Martin and Boeing are “ramping up” production.

Sadly, politicians use the increased demand in weapons of mass destruction as a reason to celebrate.

According to a recent report from Reuters, American cities are rejoicing over the new windfall, job creation and the economic benefits associated with increased bomb production.

Comments

Click here to cancel reply.

Your Comments