Issue 92

Issue #92 of Strategika explores the future of US weapons production. Contributing essays argue that the era of costly, low-quantity elite weaponry is over, advocating for a focus on the quantity of arms.

Bing West says that the US military procurement system has failed to produce affordable large-scale drone-based weapon systems used to great effect by the Ukrainians, the Houthis, and a variety of warring factions across the globe today. Ralph Peters highlights the defense establishment's inability to accept the new reality of cheap weapons systems, urging the military to stockpile large quantities of munitions and reconsider high cost "must-have" specifications of new weapons purchases. Across the globe in China, Gordon G. Chang documents how the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of China is growing at breakneck speed, aided by a complex network of private and state-owned enterprise, to churn out new weapons systems.