Across the armed forces, service leaders have been touting a military that is getting smaller and older as necessary in order to free up funds for other priorities.
However, on their paths towards emerging fleets and inventories of 2025, the military is quickly hitting an iceberg of bankruptcy before it can even reach its vaunted future.
From a Navy too small to meet global demands to an Air Force struggling with pilot recruitment, training and retention, all of these services are facing delays in their new weapon systems and modernization programs that are preventing them from reaching those goals.
It appears that the Pentagon’s divest to invest approach has failed as they continue to fall behind due to supply chain disruptions and staffing shortages.
Leaders within the Navy have recognized that they are simply too small and unready at this time in order to meet daily global demands for forces, much less confront challenges posed by China.
The Marine Corps has also stated bluntly that it is out of the crisis response business due to its lack of resources such as amphibs which makes it impossible for them respond appropriately when disaster strikes or help evacuate America’s embassy in Sudan.
The Air Force is also having issues recruiting pilots while simultaneously trying to keep up with worldwide demand for air power.
As if things weren’t bad enough already, Boeing’s T-7A trainer aircraft has experienced another delay which will postpone its deployment until 2027 – three years later than initially planned – along with production delays on newer models such as the F-15EX which could potentially result in uncertain delivery timelines.
The LGM-35A Sentinel was meant be ready by 2029 but now won’t be available until 2030 due to clearance delays, tech challenges, staffing shortfalls and more.
It appears clear now more than ever before that the divest to invest approach was overly risky given how much combat power it loses during waiting periods for next generation capabilities without any fallback options available should something be delayed or go wrong.
A recently released Government Accountability Office (GAO) report noted that over half of major programs were experiencing delays while shipbuilders were struggling with meeting the two ships per year production goal due to lower work efficiency than estimated among other issues.
Ultimately nature abhors a vacuum and choosing not take action may put America further behind than anticipated if nothing changes soon.
