New report issues dire warning on American stockpile problems

The United States could exhaust its munitions stockpile in as little as three to four weeks during a protracted war with China, according to a new report that exposed the problems Washington will face in any future global conflict.

The bi-partisan 114-page report was published by the Commission on National Defense Strategy, a group created by Congress in 2022, and made a number of startling findings about the war realities, the U.S. military is facing.

The commission warned the United States is unprepared for a sustained conflict against either of Washington’s main global rivals Russia or China individually, nor is the country ready to combat both powers at the same time. 

Business Insider’s Matthew Low reviewed the report in an article for the news outlet and explained that many of the commission’s findings weren’t new insights, but rather it took previous research and gathered it in one place. 

For example, the commission cited dozens of testimonies from officials and turned their warnings about the nation’s preparedness for war into recommendations that can assist in alleviating many of Washington’s biggest issues. 

One of the biggest issues the United States faces in any near-future conflict is its small and inadequate ammunition stockpiles and the commission reported this problem has intensified since a 2022 Center for National American Security revealed the problem. 

Two analysts from the Center for National American Security noted in their 2022 report that the United States didn’t have the weapons and munitions needed to blunt and stop an invasion from powers like China at the time. 

"While the services have shifted to investing in longer-range weapons, they are still underinvesting in the specific capabilities… that would be needed to counter China in a variety of scenarios," the report’s authors explained.

"Moreover, the Department of Defense (DoD) is not buying enough of these weapons to blunt and defeat an initial invasion, and it certainly is not stockpiling enough precision-guided munitions (PGMs) for a protracted war." the authors added. 

The shortage of munitions has continued in the two years since the report was published and the commission noted the issue has continued even after the U.S. defense industry intensified its production efforts to help supply Ukraine against Russia. 

"As a result, unclassified public wargames suggest that, in a conflict with China, the United States would largely exhaust its munitions inventories in as few as three to four weeks," the commission’s report explained.

Some critical munitions could only last days. Anti-ship missiles in the case of a conflict with China is one such example, which is why the commission was concerned about the current level of U.S. stockpiles. 

As a whole, the commission reported the U.S. defense industry was not in good shape and noted that the wider industry does not have the capacity to meet the country's needs in peacetime let alone during a major global conflict. 

"US industrial production is grossly inadequate to provide the equipment, technology, and munitions needed today, let alone given the demands of great power conflict," the commission's report explained. 

The commission provided several recommendations on how to better prepare for the future, but the most important may have been a warning that the Department of Defense needs to shift its focus to meet the new technological realities of modern war.

“Fundamental shifts in threats and technology require fundamental change in how DoD functions. DoD is operating at the speed of bureaucracy when the threat is approaching wartime urgency,” the commission warned. 

“The United States must spend more effectively and more efficiently to build the future force, not perpetuate the existing one,” the commission added. Whether this advice will be heeded in Washington has yet to be seen. 

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