Source: United States Senator for Nebraska Deb Fischer
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Deb Fischer, a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and the top Republican on the Subcommittee on Strategic Forces, today delivered a floor speech highlighting the importance of expanding munitions production capacity to meet the threats of the 21st century and deter any adversary.
During her speech, Sen. Fischer outlined how if we don’t make these investments now, it will be harder for us to surge munitions production in a time of emergency or global instability. This is especially important when considering the rate at which Ukraine and Russia are running through munitions, as well as China’s dramatic military buildup.
Click the image above to watch video of Sen. Fischer’s remarks
A full copy of Sen. Fischer’s remarks as prepared for delivery is below:
M. President.
Over the years, many historians have studied how exactly the United States was able to rapidly mobilize during World War II. It was truly a remarkable thing.
One book – Freedom’s Forge, by Arthur Herman – summarizes the feat well.
American manufacturers produced “two-thirds of all Allied military equipment used in World War II. That included 86,000 tanks, 2.5 million trucks and half a million jeeps, 286,000 warplanes, 8,800 naval vessels, 5,600 merchant ships, 434 million tons of steel, 2.6 million machine guns, and 41 billion rounds of ammunition – not to mention the greatest super bomber of the war, the B-29, and the atomic bomb.”
In the blink of an eye, entire manufacturing industries retooled their factories, and began pumping out everything from fighter planes to ships and critical munitions.
There is no doubt that our immense production capacity was a critical factor behind why the Allies won the war.
The threat environment we face today is much different. There are a wide range of scenarios our nation has to be prepared for. And of course, the way our economy is structured is much different.
This raises an important question – are we prepared to respond to the changing threat environment of the 21st century?
Repeating that incredible moment in American history would not be easy. What we can – and should do – is identify which investments we can make to effectively meet these threats and deter any adversary.
For years, we have underinvested in our munitions production capacity. We can start to reverse that by expanding already hot production lines, which would have an immediate, positive effect on readiness.
If we don’t make these investments now, it will be harder for us to surge munitions production in a time of emergency or global instability.
That’s a concern we should take seriously. During a crisis, surge capacity is one lever the Department of Defense must be able to pull to ensure decisionmakers have a range of options at their disposal.
In fact, the ability to surge production of munitions is going to be vital to respond to most types of modern conflicts.
How do we know this?
Well just look at Ukraine and Russia and how quickly they are running through munitions.
According to the Royal United Services Institute, or RUSI, Ukraine needs approximately 500 Javelin missiles every single day. Well, Lockheed Martin only produces around 2,100 missiles a year.
When the report was published in June, RUSI also estimated Russia had used between 1,100 to 2,100 missiles during their invasion of Ukraine. That means “in three months of combat, Russia has burned through four times the US annual missile production” for cruise missiles.
These examples are important benchmarks.
You can do the math and pretty quickly come up with future scenarios where demand starts to strain supply.
Another important factor is the People’s Republic of China, which both the Biden administration and the Trump administration identified as America’s pacing threat. China has spent the last two decades dramatically building up its military.
According to DOD’s 2019 Missile Defense Review, “a key component of China’s military modernization is its conventional ballistic missile arsenal designed to prevent U.S. military access to support regional allies and partners.”
And since then, China’s arsenal has continued to rapidly grow.
Again – another important reference point that our nation will have to navigate.
This should not be interpreted as fearmongering. I want to be clear that I have every confidence in our military’s ability to defend this nation and our allies.
Army Assistant Secretary for Acquisitions, Logistics, and Technology Doug Bush recently told reporters, for example, that he was “not uncomfortable” with our stockpile levels.
However, as Assistant Secretary Bush noted, the Army is “doggedly working with industry […] to boost the production of certain weapons systems to keep Kyiv armed and the US well stocked.”
In August, the Wall Street Journal reported that “in the U.S., it takes 13 to 18 months from the time orders are placed for munitions to be manufactured, according to an industry official. Replenishing stockpiles of more sophisticated weaponry such as missiles and drones can take much longer.”
The United States, our allies, or our partners need these munitions. The challenge is that years of underinvestment has reduced our production capacities and the speed at which we can respond to increased demand.
Clearly, there are significant benefits to expanding that capacity. Again, we have to be able to meet the changing threat environment and the rise of our near-peer competitors, like China.
Congress should take a few actions to address this challenge.
First –invest more in our munitions production capacity.
Second – pass a clean National Defense Authorization Act without delay.
I secured an amendment in this year’s Senate NDAA to require the Secretary of Defense and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to produce an annual report on our industrial base and potential constraints for munitions production.
This type of reporting should help to further identify gaps in our production capacity, so we can further refine future investments.
Overall – these actions would be an important step in the right direction.
We know our adversaries will continue threatening global stability. We know, as shown by Russia’s horrific invasion of Ukraine, that our allies and partners will continue to need munitions. And we know the United States needs to be prepared for any scenario that threatens our national security.
The best response to these stark and immediate realities is to expand our ability to produce the things we need to defend ourselves. If we do that, the greater our capacity is to project strength, react to any scenario, and better support allies and partners.
Thank you. I yield the floor.