> We could learn from our allies in Ukraine. Give them capital and manufacturing bases in America

I think the Ukranians are still unimpressed with the withdrawal of US support, especially from the shells which were being manufactured in the US (now moved to Rheinmetall), and the de-sanctioning of Russian oil: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cm2871wyz9ko

"We make plenty of stuff at scale."

Not the stuff that matters (chips, electronics, metals, etc). We don't even have a primary lead smelter, which we would likely need if we got into a peer conflict.

It's also important to note that the US lacks the ability to quickly pivot and set up plants. Much of the knowledge to do so has been disappearing as employment in that sector has been steadily declining for decades. Sure we make stuff at scale using automation, but that automation can't be changed to significantly different stuff in a reasonable timeframe.

> We make plenty of stuff at scale

Maybe this video of a rather famous YouTuber trying to manufacture something as simple as a grill scrubber with a US supply chain would help you understand how bad it is?

https://youtu.be/3ZTGwcHQfLY

I doubt that. If American soil was threatened I think you would see a mass mobilization. People like living in America and they won’t give it up easily. I know I would join. See how long Ukraine has lasted with far fewer resources.

Americans are fat and happy now but we are not always this way.

We (the US) probably spend too much per munition and do not have manufacturing capacity like China. We're not helpless, but i dont get the sense we have plenty of stock either. Both are problems.

(1) In this back and forth I'm surprised mines in the straight are not mentioned.

(2) im having difficulty seeing how cheap drones incapacitates a carrier. They are there to project force well into enemy territory for precise strikes. The carrier can be some distance from the shore. Now, the question turns to strike what? Surely drone manufacturing plants and barracks would have to be on list or ... they'd be less effective.

(3) if drones are sub-mach speeds why not shoot down with a glorified gattleling gun as opposed to expensive missiles or lasers?

> We make plenty of stuff at scale. We just haven’t designed any of military around it since WWII.

When people claim that America is losing manufacturing jobs, you get the "Oh we produce high value products, mostly military".

Then you get posts like this. How is one to reconcile these ideas? Is Lockheed Martin the Ferrari of weapons?

> We could learn from our allies in Ukraine.

Should have worn a suit.

The US is not an ally of Ukraine, it sees Ukraine as a nuisance that should have rolled over long ago but somehow refuses to and because the US still needs Europe for a bit longer (but maybe not that much longer) they're still playing ball as long as Europe pays (as it should, but that's besides the point).

Allies come to each others aid, the US has all but abandoned Ukraine after Trump came to power and did far less than it could have done early on. Why you would expect Ukraine to be generous after the numerous put downs and actions that were clearly organized to benefit Putin is a mystery to me.

I think there's very little to be learned from Ukrainian technology. They dont have unprecedented servos, software, or manufacturing.

What they have is a dire situation that drives efficient and pragmatic proucurement. This is much harder to export.

> We could learn from our allies in Ukraine. Give them capital and manufacturing bases in America.

But Putin would not like that! /s

> We could learn from our allies in Ukraine. Give them capital and manufacturing bases in America.

That is happening, only with "EU" not "America". Because the EU are Ukraine's allies.

https://kyivindependent.com/ukraine-to-open-10-weapons-expor...

https://www.politico.eu/article/ukraine-to-open-arms-factory...

https://euobserver.com/209049/eu-signs-off-on-e260m-grant-fo...

As for the US being Ukrainian allies as compared to EU, well: https://kyivindependent.com/us-military-aid-to-ukraine-dropp...

>We could learn from our allies in Ukraine. Give them capital and manufacturing bases in America.

The soviet union collapsed as a result of military overspending and massive supply chain corruption in an attempt to keep up with an opponent with lower levels of corruption and a far more powerful industrial base.

Which is to say, inviting the gold toilet brigade from Ukraine to come and build our weapons while showering them with cash would signal that that Christmas came early for Putin.