> the crumbling foundation of america's military > the u.s. failed to produce weapons and ammunition fast enough to supply ukraine. could it equip its own armed forces in the event of war? > it isnt only that the u.s. cant build drones, rockets, and missiles fast enough to meet the needs of ukraine. america itself lacks stockpiles of the necessary components. > in december 2023, ukraines president, volodymyr zelensky, called for the domestic production of 1 million annually to meet war needsand ukraine has met that goal. in the meantime, the supply of drones provided by the u.s. to ukraine has numbered in the thousands, and many of those have not fared as well on the battlefield as ukraines homemade, often jerry-rigged models and off-the-shelf chinese drones. > the pentagons nearly $1 trillion annual budget is more than the defense spending of the next nine biggest militaries combined. it is a preposterous sum that pays for an industrial infrastructure that includes mining operations, chemical plants, factories, storage depots, arsenals, ships, trains, aircraft, launching pads, and research labs. it is less an industry than an ecosystem. today it is global and so complex and mutable that it has become nearly impossible to map. > together these sectors support what remains the most potent fighting force on the planet. but the foundation is crumbling. much has been written about the pentagons devotion to big, expensive, and arguably outdated weapons platforms: fighter jets, bombers, guided missiles, aircraft carriers. little notice has been paid to the deterioration of its industrial base, which underpins everything. > one more thing: workers capable of handling jobs at the militarys industrial plants dont just walk in off the street. generally, it takes two years for an average line worker in munitions to be effective, the science board report noted. for explosives, that timeline is extended to seven years.  
India