“The data is unequivocal: The United States is not prepared for the war that we may have to enter if China said, ‘today is the day.’ It’s not that I think we would automatically lose — by no means do I think that’s the case — but I do not believe that the industrial base is prepared to support the material demands of the Department of Defense.”
Despite a bipartisan push to disentangle the US economy from China, the military-industrial base still relies heavily on Chinese suppliers. And that’s not the only weak link.
Western defense firms have struggled just to meet the intense surge of demand from years of large-scale combat in Ukraine. A war with China would be much worse — and US defense production, stockpiles and supply chains are not up to the task.
Chinese firms make up over 9% of the major subcontractors (“Tier 1 Suppliers”) on Defense Department contracts. The majority of Tier 1 suppliers are foreign firms, and no country is home to more Tier 1 suppliers than China.
breakingdefense.com/2025/06/nearly
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