U.S. shifts air defense assets from Ukraine.

 SHORTAGE OF STOCKPILES WITH 2 FRONT WAR

ISRAEL WILL TAKE PRIORITY

It has now been officially announced that some weapons will no longer be shipped to Ukraine. The Pentagon is claiming that air defense missiles are now in short supply and causing a danger to U.S. national defense. 

Patriot missiles are being produced at a rate of 500 per year and money has been allocated to raise that number to 650 a year. Each missile costs $4 million and a system for a missile battery cost $1 billion.

The Thaad missile cost $12 to $15 million and production is estimated at 8 a month or 96 per year.

The reality is the very expensive missile defense systems can be depleted by large numbers of  drones and other projectiles in a short time. Making them more selective, will then allow drones and other less dangerous weapons to be even more effective. Many of these other weapons are manufactured at a cost in thousands rather than millions. Many small nations like Yemen have been able to produce effective offensive missiles creating a dilemma at to what defenses need to made to lower cost, increase production of air defense weapons. 

Israel was depleting its missile defenses at an alarming rate in the 12 days of war with Iran, it could not replace the number being expended, it is likely going to get every available missile from bases and assets as possible.

During WW2 the U.S was able to produce 300,000 planes in just 5 years attesting to its overwhelming manufacturing capacity. 

Germany it is acknowledged had the best and most sophisticated weapons, expensive and not easily produced in numbers, especially when it became subject to air attack.

Today we see politicians and other trash talkers continually making threats against China, a country, if motivated, that will be able to outproduce the U.S. by many multiples. Can anyone explain the logic in this policy. 

We see that the Defense budget has now been raised to over $1 trillion surpassing the next combined spending of the next 10 nations including China and Russia. While DOGE was finding waste and fraud in many places the Pentagon seems to have been exempt and rather than reevaluating what is needed, it seems that more money is the answer. More of the same, is unlikely to solve the dilemma in a very quickly changing world.