Pentagon Warns US Arms May Be Obsolete

From Times Online:

America's traditional means of projecting power abroad is growing “increasingly obsolete” and its billion-dollar military hardware could be as ineffectual against future threats as the heavily fortified Maginot line was in defending France against the Nazis, a senior Pentagon adviser has warned.

In a wake-up call to US military chiefs, Andrew Krepinevich, a leading architect of the counter-insurgency strategy in Iraq and Afghanistan, argues that the Pentagon is ill-equipped to counter rising powers such as China, hostile states such as Iran, the threat from irregular forces such as Hezbollah, and terrorists such as Al-Qaeda. It is also wasting billions on weaponry that could be outdated before it rolls off the production line.

In an interview, Krepinevich said the military, like many bureaucracies, was in danger of “drinking its own bathwater” and discounting new challenges, including the proliferation of precision-guided weapons and threats from space and cyberspace. Last week Robert Gates, the defence secretary, rewarded him for his prescience with a seat on the influential defence policy board at the Pentagon.

Read more ....

My Comment: Precision missiles .... such as leaked reports of China developing ballistic missiles to hunt and destroy aircraft carriers, the development of counter measures to confuse and nullify American advantages in air power, and the introduction of asymetrical warfare on the battlefield .... makes one wonder if the weapon systems that we have today will be able to stand-up to the challenges of tomorrow.

On the surface .... I will have to say no. With a $500+ billion dollar military budget, you would think the U.S. would be on top of the world .... but it is clear that we are not. A strategic rethink obviously needs to be done ... fortunately, it appears that the Defense Department is making them.

On what is my take of this situation .... hmmmm .... advances in miniaturization, better communications and the development of sophisticated electronics and computer systems, development of robotics .... these new weapon systems are now revolutionizing the battlefield. Coupled with the proper intelligence .... these systems become lethal.

For example .... I find it incredible that a small and difficult to see tracking device, when put on a target, can easily be used in taking out such a target with a Predator Drone or Reaper precision missile strike. These systems work 24/7, and (because no operator life is in danger) can be place in situations that no human pilot would place himself in regardless of the benefit of being there.

Another example occurred during the height of the Iraq war, commanders on the ground were always asking to be covered by drones and other UAVs. It was always nice to have a high priced plane flying above, but the commanders knew that the cheaper UAVs were more effective with their precision missiles in killing the enemy than the high flying fighter jets. In addition, they were invaluable in providing real on the ground intelligence. A pilot flying thousands of feet above the ground .... at high speed .... would never be an ideal position to look down and see what is happening.