'He said governments and defence manufacturers now had to "ramp up production in a much higher tempo" [...] "We need large volumes." [...] Western military stockpiles were "looking a bit thin" and urged Nato allies to spend 2% of their national wealth on defence [...] it was vital for Europe to get its defence industrial base in shape [...] "I think it's crucial that Ukrainians also can procure defence material from the industrial base in Europe."'
What's that Auntie, you think we should give more money to the weapons contractors? Oh, ok then, I guess we can go another winter skimping on food and fuel, just as long as we outproduce those dastardly Russkies in weapons of death & destruction. Tell your story; Ask a question; Interpret generously http://storybythethroat.wordpress.com/tell-ask-listen/
Re: BBC: Western allies say they're running out of ammunition
"What's that Auntie, you think we should give more money to the weapons contractors? "
"Funding the Military Industrial Complex" seems to be the only "rational" baseline explanation for lots of Western craziness. Take the newly formed AUKUS:
All those billions...and what for? to "preserve security and stability in the Indo-Pacific..." " "...to reduce the likelihood of conflict"
Well of course the Australians have to protect the trade routes with their biggest trading partner...which is China. And who are they protecting this against? "...US, UK and Australia are paying to the Indo-Pacific and their commitment to constraining China’s exercise of power in the region."
So...lets get this right: they are spending billions on Nuclear submarines to protect Australian trade routes with China against...ummm...China? - Yup.
Meanwhile the Chinese are developing a new way of tracking Submarines:
So...long before these things are even operational, China will very probably be able to track them all and clearly will have countermeasures at the ready.
So...aside from being pointless for the stated purpose (which is oxymoronic), these submarines are technologically White Elephants before even being built. That of course has never stopped the West before: a West still keenly building Aircraft carriers that can be dropped to the bottom of the ocean in minutes by Chinese hypersonic missiles.
No: there seems little rationale behind any of this other than Western racism and belligerence fed by lobby pressure to extract an ever increasing tithe from the population to feed the Military Industrial complex (where the elite hold a lot of investments)...to extract huge amounts of money for worthless unworkable rubbish.
Re: BBC: Western allies say they're running out of ammunition
The Russians have been preparing for this conflict for years. Currently they are on target to produce 2,000,000 artilery shells a year and rising. That's more than the combined production in the entire West, by several times!
Ramping up production in the West is a mirage. It would require massive investment in plant, machinery and skilled workers, all of which don't exist. And, finally, the capital investment requiers guaranteed contracts from the state stretching over at least one or two decades going forward, which the state refuses to do, so the private sector is wary, everywhere, of committing to vagues promisses. It's all a mirage, similar to the one that Ukraine is making progress in the war.
Re: BBC: Western allies say they're running out of ammunition
-As pointed out elsewhere they are set up to extract billions by means of "boutique" production: extracting huge expenses for "development" of ever-more-sophisticated and thus unrobust products which when (finally) delivered require massively lucrative further maintenance contracts.
-Shells and artillery are just so...passé when compared to the present cash extraction plan. .
Posted by Chris Rogers on October 4, 2023, 9:34 am, in reply to "One for Chris Rogers."
A quick use of Google Translate informs us that China has developed a new way to detect 'stealth submarines' using their lead in 6G telecommunications.
Living in China's Greater Bay Area, which essentially is similar to Silicon Valley in California, I'm inundated daily by the huge technological change and advancement China is making, this applies across many technologies, among them military and space exploration. Suffice to say, China has invested greatly in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Medicine) to the point its either on par with the West or at the cutting edge.
Since the US tilt to Asia Pac under Obama and Trump's anti-China rhetoric the nation is aware NATOstan poises a threat and has risen to the task of challenging this - this can be seen in the development of a major ship building capability focused around Shanghai and modernisation of its Navy and Coastal defense systems.
As far as I'm aware, the PLA is aware its behind the USA in submarine warfare, specifically of the attack/hunter killer type, so an emphasis on submarine locating technology evens the playing field, which of course can be deployed on its emerging Aircraft carrier fleet and other classes of ships.
Another interesting point is the fact Japan has been upgrading its Navy, egged on by the USA, which does not augur well as China has a very long memory.
Moral of the tale, the Chinese ain't stupid and are more than capable of playing the Navy Lark and matching/exceeding US production and utilising advanced technologies to guarantee its sovereignty and access to markets in our region, which, in the 1920s and 30s Imperial Japan was unable to do - essentially, and unlike the West, the Chinese elite study history and take onboard lessons from it.
on October 3, 2023, 5:10 pm