“As you note in your editorial "Pete Hegseth and the Generals" (Oct. 1), the defense secretary's embrace of a "warrior ethos" is welcome but insufficient. The Pentagon has been busy increasing standards, bolstering readiness and modernizing procurement. The next priority: How can it secure the necessary weapons?
At present, we'd lose even the shortest of conflicts.
Recent operations underscore that aging and inadequate stocks no longer meet the moment. The U.S. confronts heightened instability against enemies who enjoy seemingly endless manufacturing capacity to replenish their own forces in wartime.
Beijing builds six naval combatant ships for every 1.8 ships the U.S. builds. A January 2023 wargame estimated that in a potential conflict in the Taiwan Strait, the U.S. would deplete its stockpile of Long-Range Anti-Ship Missiles within a week. In other words, by day eight, our ability to strike Chinese naval forces from outside the range of air defenses would be gone.
The same shortfalls persist elsewhere. During the 12-Day War between Israel and Iran, the U.S. launched more than 150 Terminal High Altitude Area Defense interceptors at incoming Iranian missiles. That was one-quarter of our inventory and more than three times the average annual purchase rate.
Operation Midnight Hammer likewise revealed a stealthy bomber fleet large enough for a weekend raid but not a battle and surely not a long war. It took nine B-2 bombers, nearly half our inventory, to conduct that complicated strike.
Supporting Ukraine has also exposed shortfalls in U.S. munitions production. While Russia produces more than 300,000 artillery shells per month, the U.S. Army has feverishly ramped up for years and still produces only 40,000 155 mm shells per month.
In the Red Sea, the Navy has been firing years' worth of missiles against Houthi radar, drone and antiship missile sites. The service launched more Tomahawk missiles in January 2024 than it bought the previous year.
Congress and the White House endorsed providing more than $100 billion in modernization funds earlier this year. It's of little use, however, if the Pentagon doesn't get the money under contract. There is a flood of private capital ready to build at scale, as well as traditional industry partners that have been ramping up surge capacity and investing in innovation in recent years.
Beijing and Moscow can count. They know what we're capable of, and that they merely need to wait us out.
It's now the Pentagon's task to prove that we can win wars of attrition precisely to prevent them.
Mackenzie Eaglen
American Enterprise Institute
Washington” [1]
1. Our Troops Need More Than a 'Warrior Ethos'. Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 09 Oct 2025: A14.
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