Aecon - Charlotte Operations’ Post

Lots have been written about Europe’s unpreparedness for the war. Here is a sobering reading about the American naval capacity. This analysis proves a few things: 1) The democracies under the U.S. leadership got complacent, lost vigilance and, as a result, got outmaneuvered; 2) A scenario when Ukraine is losing the land war will be disastrous for the US and allies overseas; 3) Americans need allies as much as they need the US. Here are the 3 excerpts underpinning these conclusions: 1) Problem Statement: “The United States can’t match the size of China’s fleet in the near or medium term. Deindustrialization, poor procurement choices, and a myopic fixation on the U.S. presence in the Middle East have seen to that… The U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence estimates that China now has 232 times the shipbuilding capacity of the United States. China built almost half the world’s new ships in 2022, whereas U.S. shipyards produced just 0.13 percent” 2) MAGA type solution? Not really… “Rebuilding the arsenal of democracy that anchored the U.S. victory at sea 80 years ago won’t happen overnight or cheaply—it is a generational project. The 20-year Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Program aimed at upgrading dry docks, facilities, and equipment will end up costing well over the projected $21 billion. But the plan is only intended to maximize existing U.S. industrial capacity and won’t do much to close the enormous shipbuilding gap with China”. 3) The reality is that… The USA needs its allies! “Realizing that U.S. shipyards are stretched thin, policymakers have begun looking abroad. Del Toro encouraged South Korean companies to invest in U.S. naval shipping during a visit this year. Japan will likely begin performing repair and maintenance work on U.S. warships soon; India agreed to do so last year. These initiatives will alleviate the increasing maintenance backlog at U.S. facilities, but it would take a large share of the combined Japanese and South Korean shipyard capacity to fundamentally alter the growing disparity between the U.S. and Chinese fleet size in the Western Pacific”.

Despite the Defense Department’s lip service about China being the “pacing challenge,” decades of deindustrialization and policymakers’ failure to prioritize among services and threats have left the Navy ill-equipped to endure a sustained high-intensity conflict in the Pacific. Where does that leave the U.S. Navy and the most critical U.S. foreign-policy imperative: deterring a war in the Pacific? My Defense Priorities colleague Gil Barndollar and I for Foreign Policy. https://lnkd.in/eKiJYwXY

Why Jamie Dimon is wrong: A country's industrial base remains its most powerful weapon. When misguided #Friedmanism sent ours overseas we lost the ability to secure our own future from the very hostile authoritarian regimes whose GDPs we've been funding with exorbitant 7% growth rates. If we can't foreseeably sustain attritionally industrial-scale conflict, as we are seeing in #Ukraine, legislatures will continue to capitulate to offworld demands to maintain asymmetrical economic entanglement; a losing battle when indemnified #tech (#CDA) and #media (#FARA) can and will continue to surveil and manipulate domestic messaging to facilitate foreign interests at the expense of western self-determinism. As here: "Canada security intelligence chief warns China can use #TikTok to spy on users, CBC reports". https://lnkd.in/gbHWEjCx As all polity is self-preserving and expansionist, heads of transnational corporations will lobby their own self-interests at the expense of Western countries autonomy, which is why #JamieDimon continues to agitate on behalf of #china. Just as those same insulated authoritarian regimes will continue to expand their surveillance and influence until they bring every space under a suzerainty or they get a black-eye; the problem with non-democratic nuclear powers. Bring manufacturing, agriculture, and media back inside the country, and de-indemnify our own tech and media from colluding with foreign powers. Spool up the machine if you value your rights. #NATO #Hollywood #security #RepealTheCDA #russia #election2024

The U.S. Navy Can’t Build Ships Decades of deindustrialization and downsizing have left America without shipyards to build and maintain a fleet. By Gil Barndollar, a senior fellow at Defense Priorities, and Matthew C. Mai, a research associate at Defense Priorities. A U.S. Army staff sergeant salutes as U.S. Navy sailors stand on the flight deck of the USS Bataan during Fleet Week in New York City on May 25, 2022. ALEXI J. ROSENFELD/GETTY IMAGES MAY 17, 2024 After decades of strategic drift and costly acquisition failures, the U.S. Navy is sailing straight into a storm it can’t avoid. Despite the Defense Department’s lip service about China being the “pacing challenge,” decades of deindustrialization and policymakers’ failure to prioritize among services and threats have left the Navy ill-equipped to endure a sustained high-intensity conflict in the Pacific. The United States is unable to keep pace with Chinese shipbuilding and will fall even further behind in the coming years. Where does that leave the U.S. Navy and the most critical U.S. foreign-policy imperative: deterring a war in the Pacific? As evidenced by the Biden administration’s latest budget request, fiscal constraints are forcing the Navy to cut procurement requests, delay modernization programs, and retire ships early. The Navy’s budget for the 2025 fiscal year calls for decommissioning 19 ships—including three nuclear-powered attack submarines and four guided-missile cruisers—while procuring only six new vessels. The full scope of what military analysts have long warned would be the “Terrible ’20s” is now evident: The expensive upgrading of the U.S. nuclear triad, simultaneous modernization efforts across the services, and the constraint of rising government debt are compelling the Pentagon to make tough choices about what it can and cannot pay for. Workforce shortages and supply chain issues are also limiting shipbuilding capacity. The defense industrial base is still struggling to recover from post-Cold War budget cuts that dramatically shrank U.S. defense manufacturing. The Navy needs more shipyard capacity, but finding enough qualified workers for the yards remains the biggest barrier to expanding production. The shipbuilding industry is struggling to attract talent, losing out to fast food restaurants that offer better pay and benefits for entry-level employees. At bottom, it is a lack of welders, not widgets, that must be overcome if the U.S. Navy is to grow its fleet. https://lnkd.in/efe-Jpjv Thanks very much for sharing Jyri Raitasalo

My latest research, published by the Atlantic Council, investigates the outcomes over the past 30 years when the U.S. military has bought off-the-shelf gear proven in service with allied forces. While the instances are uncommon, the results are consistent: U.S forces get quality kit, at reasonable costs, mostly on time. Of course, that's an expected result, which begs the question--why haven't the procurement bureaucrats learned this lesson yet? Perhaps they should read the paper. https://lnkd.in/esAfwuQD

The National Defense Industrial Strategy is the first document of its kind—a strategy specifically for the U.S. defense industrial base. But what does that entail? Dr. Cynthia Cook provides an overview of the strategy, highlighting both its innovations and its challenges here: https://lnkd.in/ec4ApXFQ #Defense #NationalSecurity #InternationalSecurity #Pentagon #DefenseIndustry

📣📣 This is why we need you, our partners, to engage with us today. 🌎🌎 DOD’s first-ever National Defense Industrial Strategy (NDIS). https://lnkd.in/dxfH49f5 #NDIS will catalyze “generational change” — from the existing defense industrial base (DIB) to a more robust, resilient and dynamic modernized defense industrial ecosystem. The NDIS demonstrates that the highest echelons of our nation’s military understand the #DIB must provide the required capabilities at the speed and scale necessary for the U.S. military to prevail in a near-peer conflict. As our director Erik Gardner has previously stated, America’s national security is inextricably linked to the strength of our industrial base. To ensure a focused path forward, the NDIS calls out challenges, solutions and risks of failure, and the strategy comprises FOUR strategic priorities: ❗️Resilient supply chains ❗️Workforce readiness ❗️Flexible acquisition ❗️Economic deterrence Charleston Defense Contractors Association South Carolina Council on Competitiveness Charleston Regional Development Alliance SCRA: South Carolina Research Authority Lowcountry AFCEA Chapter South Carolina Department of Commerce Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce South Carolina Chamber of Commerce Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce NavalX NavalX Mid-Atlantic Tech Bridge Adrianne L. Beasley Steve Harnig Erik Gardner Rianna Susco, PMP Jee Youn Fickling Don Sallee Greg Hays Steven Carioti PHOTO CAPTION: Through a process called austenitization, a 155 mm artillery tube enters a heat treatment furnace at Watervliet Arsenal in New York. Photo Credit: Mr. John B. Snyder (AMC)

#CPA Chairman: Get #CCPChina Out of America’s #MilitarySupplyChain Posted on Jun 26, 2024 06:52 am Chinese companies supply many inputs for America’s military, putting the U.S. in a disturbingly vulnerable position. This threatens the survival of the small domestic manufacturers that play a critical role in America’s defense industrial base.Chinese companies supply many inputs for America’s military, putting the U.S. in a disturbingly vulnerable position. This threatens the survival of the small domestic manufacturers that play a critical role in America’s defense industrial base......

The United States Department of Defense released its inaugural National Defense Industrial Strategy (NDIS) to guide the Department's engagement, policy development, and investment in the industrial base over the next three to five years. The strategy recognizes that ensuring a robust defense capability is a shared responsibility, necessitating cooperation and coordination across the entirety of the U.S. government, private industry, and our international allies and partners. From #supplychain research and solutions to developing flexible #acquisition strategies, the active-duty students, expert faculty and industry partners of the Naval Postgraduate School are doing the work that will enable defense solutions to be developed with the speed and scale required to adequately respond if the U.S. gets into a major war with a peer competitor. The future Naval Innovation Center at NPS will further enable the defense #innovation ecosystem by bringing together the best minds in #industry, academia and the military services to collaborate in a secure, interdisciplinary and applied environment to envision and develop solutions to the #nationalsecurity challenges we face. Office of the Secretary of the Navy | Office of the Chief of Naval Operations | Office of Naval Research | Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition & Sustainment | Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering | Acquisition Research Program at Naval Postgraduate School #NPS #USNavy

In the face of ongoing global conflicts, the United States is feeling the pressure to revitalize and invest in the defense-industrial base. Billions are spent on defense each year, yet the process for how this funding is allocated towards acquisition is opaque to those outside of the government. Mapping the U.S. DOD Acquisition Ecosystem is a one-day course that provides an overview of the U.S. Department of Defense acquisition process. The course will also touch on timely topics including international defense industrial cooperation, the defense industrial base, innovation, and the new National Defense Industrial Strategy. Register at cs.is/acquisition by May 17. #defense #production #defensecontractor #security #weaponry #stockpiles #globalpolicy #trade #industry #defenseindustry #aerospace