Subject: Re: What is the cost of missile, etc. fired on Ukraine
"What is the US (and Chinese) stockpile of similar weapons and what is our ability to keep up an equivalent rate of usage (assuming that current tactics would be indicative of those used in a future European conflict).
After our (probably useless) bombing of the Houthis in Yemen this year, it was feared that we were running low on some types of munitions. How would we fare in a multi-year war of attrition against a country with the resources (manufacturing and otherwise) like China?"

https://responsiblestatecraft....
US depleted its missiles in Ukraine, Israel. Now it wants more fast.
But experts say that under current conditions that may be impossible.
Namely, it hopes to boost production rates for 12 types of missiles it wants on-hand, including Patriot interceptor missiles, Standard Missile-6, THAAD interceptors, and joint air-surface standoff missiles.

https://responsiblestatecraft....
By the numbers: US missile capacity depleting fast
Our industrial base isn't keeping up with the pace of weapons transfers to Ukraine and Israel
Regardless of the merits or demerits of the Biden administration’s policies on the wars in Ukraine and Gaza and the wider Middle East, it has become clear that the United States has been using and giving away its missiles faster than it can produce them.

It is also clear that from the perspective of missile inventories and production, the United States is far from prepared to engage confidently in a sustained direct conflict with a peer competitor like China.

This is demonstrated by the fact that U.S. missile and artillery shell reserves are currently inadequate to provide Ukraine with what it needs to keep its missile defense systems supplied with interceptors. Indeed, the inability of the United States and its NATO allies to provide enough air defense missiles — a.k.a. interceptors — has made it easier for Russia to attack and destroy key military targets, as well as cripple Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.

This missile deficit parallels the well-documented lack of U.S. artillery shell production that has enabled Russia to increase the rate at which it’s taking control over territories in Ukraine today.


https://responsiblestatecraft....

Many of the articles emphasizing the high cost of Russia’s massive missile and drone strikes rely on missile cost estimates from an October 2022 Forbes Ukraine article estimating some key Russian missile costs including the Kh-101 at $13 million, the Kalibr at $6.5 million, the Iskander at $3 million, the P-800 Oniks at $1.25 million, the Kh-22 at $1 million, and the Tochka-U at $0.3 million.

While some of the Forbes UA cost estimates seem reasonable, most of them seem to arrive at costs suspiciously close to what U.S. taxpayers would pay for a comparable missile. Finding such costs not credible, Defense Express Ukraine made a good faith effort to come up with more realistic missile cost estimates, including the Kh-101 at $1.2 million; the Kalibr, approximately $1 million; the Iskander R-500, $1 million; the Iskander 9M723 ballistic, $2 million; and the replacement for the legendary SS-N-22 “Sunburn, supersonic anti-ship cruise missile,” approximately $3 million.

the Russian military budget’s lack of transparency means that in most cases one has to guesstimate. However, with input costs for weapons production and development being much lower than those for the United States, one would expect Russian missiles to be less expensive than the production of U.S. or Western European ones. Russian defense manufacturing labor costs average $1,200 per worker per month, compared to at least $4,000 for U.S. workers. Materials like steel, titanium, and composites are also less expensive in Russia. Russia’s defense industry prioritizes mass production and efficiency, unlike the U.S defense industry, where profitability and shareholder returns are of greater importance.
Shareholder Value Uber Alles!

https://www.nationaldefensemag...
The Army — in response to diminishing stockpiles as it supported Ukraine’s defense against Russia — set a goal to produce 100,000 155mm artillery rounds per month by this October.

The service opened a number of new facilities to support this endeavor — and as one Army official stated, “We haven’t seen this level of investment in our industrial base since World War II.”

However, the Army is going to fall short of its goal. Service spokesperson Steve Warren told reporters in July that the Army is not expecting to produce 100,000 155mm rounds per month until mid-2026.
This is the fault of Congress. They dithered and waited a year after the Russian invasion to fund increased production of 155mm artillery munitions.

The US military industrial plant has been allowed to deteriorate. We have not faced an equal opponent since WW 2-Thankfully.
The US certainly has the capability to build any needed weapon system. BUT it will take years to implement. Our procurement system needs to be not overhauled but replaced. Our nation has a propensity to build over complicated weapon systems that frankly do not work.
F 35 a decade long problem that still has not been corrected.
https://www.pogo.org/analysis/...
https://www.pogo.org/analysis/...
https://www.pogo.org/analysis/...
https://responsiblestatecraft....

Littoral Combat Ship
Zumwalt destroyer
Ticonderoga-class ships moderation program
Constellation-class frigates
Ford class aircraft carrier

https://www.politico.com/news/...
Even the Pentagon has to stand in line and wait for delayed shipments of major weapons, like Hellfire missiles, Javelin rocket launchers and sophisticated air defense interceptors

https://www.csis.org/analysis/....
Be sure to click on link below
<img src="https://csis-website-prod.s3.a..."/>


US defense budget is $962 billion.
The defense department has failed to pass an audit for the past 7 years.

Why did DODGE not look into defense spending?

I am sure this reply is much more than you wanted. But there are BIG problems that are needed to be rectified! IMO