The Wall Street JournalThe Wall Street Journal

The West again learns that war needs industry

By Daniel Michaels

06 Jul 2023 · 6 min read

informed Summary

  1. The Russia-Ukraine conflict has highlighted significant gaps in Western defense-industry capacity and organization, with concerns that the U.S. and its allies are not prepared for a protracted war.

Behind the deadly front lines where Ukrainian and Russian soldiers are locked in combat, a less-noticed life-or-death battle is raging to keep troops supplied with arms and ammunition. The side that loses that fight is the one that will lose the war. It is a lesson Washington is relearning.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has exposed huge shortfalls in Western defense-industry capacity and organization. The U.S. and its allies aren’t prepared to fight a protracted war in the Pacific, and would struggle with a long European conflict.

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