The takeaway from the roughly 90 minute hearing titled “Rebuilding the Arsenal of Democracy” was that the government needed long term contracts and more money to build up defense systems because, based on war games conducted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the U.S. struggled to hold its own. The main reason was our defense industrial base was lacking in capacity to produce basic things, like ammunition and heat sensors on armored vehicles, most of which are made in China.

“We will run out of ammunition in a week with a war with China,” estimated Chris Brose, chief strategy officer for Anduril Industries, a defense contractor looking to manufacture autonomous ships and drones for the Defense Department. “We may be ready for Day 1 in a war scenario, but we are unprepared for Day 3, and forget Day 300. I want to be really clear, I spent a decade on the House Armed Services Committee and spent years asking for additional funding, but we have to acknowledge the reality; defense spending is going up and our industrial base is shrinking.”

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