The assessment calls for a review of how many days U.S. forces could fight in multiple theaters of operation before current stockpiles are exhausted and an appraisal of how long it would take to replenish those munitions.
Other aspects of the review require the Pentagon to examine the capabilities of adversaries like China and Russia while accounting for what allies would be expected to provide in a conflict. Upon completion of that analysis, the Pentagon must craft a plan by the next budget cycle to implement munitions requirements for fighting more than one adversary at a time, the NDAA says.
The need to bolster supplies comes amid concerns that U.S. adversaries are increasingly coordinating with each other. U.S. European Command’s Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, who also serves as NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe, recently warned that allies must prepare for the possibility that Russia and China could launch wars in Europe and the Pacific simultaneously. He said 2027 was a potential flashpoint year.
“We’re going to need every bit of kit and equipment and munitions that we can in order to beat that,” Grynkewich said during an Army conference in Wiesbaden, Germany, in July.
Grynkewich argued that if Chinese President Xi Jinping attacks Taiwan, he would probably coordinate such a move with Russian President Vladimir Putin, opening the possibility of a global conflict.
Last week, Grynkewich reinforced the notion of adversaries increasingly working together, saying the situation means more should be done to fortify the whole of the NATO alliance.
“With the alignment of our adversaries around the globe, it is imperative we strengthen the Euro-Atlantic area as much as possible, and reinforce our posture in the High North,” Grynkewich said in a statement related to a reorganization of NATO’s command structure.
Besides adversaries aligning, the scale of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war also has been a driving factor in a NATO-wide push to ramp up ammunition production.
Secretary-General Mark Rutte in November said dozens of new production lines have opened across the alliance, with ammunition output now at its highest level in decades.
“Until recently, Russia was producing more ammunition than all NATO allies put together,” Rutte said. “But not anymore.”
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