While the US attempts to solve its missile hoard squeeze with low, easily mass-produced missiles, China’s production surge forces a striking reckoning with current warfare’s business and protracted realities and the race to outgun near-peer adversaries.
This month, The War Zone reported that General Atomics has unveiled a fresh low-cost air-to-surface weapon, dubbed the” Hit Missile”, at the Surface Navy Association’s annual conference.
No word on the missile’s size, performance, or another specifications from the company is provided, but instead, the company developed an air-breathing engine structure with a single dorsal consumption and a slab-sided design with two lugs on top.
The US government’s concentrate on cost-effective, mass-producible weapons like the Strike Missile reflects an immediate need for flexible, long-range abilities in high-end issues. Similar initiatives, like the US Navy’s Multi-Mission Affordable Capacity Effector ( MACE ) and the US Air Force’s Extended Range Attack Munition ( ERAM ), highlight a broader effort to balance capability with affordability.
In addition to those projects, in September 2024, Asia Times reported that Anduril Industries, a US defense contractor, has introduced the Barracuda family of Autonomous Air Vehicles ( AAVs ) to address the critical depletion of US weapon stockpiles.
The Barracuda line, designed for inexpensive, hyper-scale creation, comprises the Barracuda-100, Barracuda-250, and Barracuda-500. These air-breathing, software-defined inconsequential AAVs are compatible with different loads and implementation methods and have varying sizes, runs, and payload capacities.
The Barracuda-M configuration offers a cost-effective, adaptable cruise missile capability, thereby addressing the imperative requirement for precision-guided munitions ( PGMs) that are both producible and upgradeable for the US and its allies.
The Barracuda AAVs are engineered for rapid, low-cost assembly, necessitating fewer tools and parts, resulting in a 30 % reduction in cost compared to their competitors. Utilizing commercially available components to increase supply chain resilience, their modular design enables quick adaptation to new technologies and changing threats.
These relatively inexpensive and simple missiles may have been developed as a result of recent US Navy operations in the Red Sea. These operations revealed the sizable number of expensive missiles required to neutralize threats posed by technologically inferior forces like the Houthis in Yemen.
The US Navy’s massive missile purchases against Houthi rebels raises the question of whether the US can have enough to launch a near-peer conflict in the Pacific.
The War Zone reported in July 2024 that the Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group ( IKECSG) expended 770 missiles and munitions targeting Iranian-backed Houthi militants in Yemen during a nine-month deployment as an illustration of the enormous expenditure of pricey munitions against low-cost targets.
According to the report, the IKECSG launched 155 Standard-series missiles and 135 Tomahawk cruise missiles, while its aircraft deployed 60 air-to-air missiles and 420 air-to-surface munitions.
Scaling up such numbers in a hypothetical war with China, a January 2023 report by Mark Cancian and other writers for the Center for Strategic and International Studies ( CSIS ) think tank noted that in three to four weeks of conflict with China, the US expended about 5, 000 long-range precision missiles, mainly the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile ( JASSM) and Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile ( LRASM).
Given the enormous amount of missile spending in a hypothetical war with China in the Pacific, it is difficult to tell whether the US defense industrial base can keep the US supplied with such firepower. The challenge lies in overcoming entrenched issues in production capacity, supply chain vulnerabilities, and bureaucratic inefficiencies.
The US defense industry base faces difficulties as it ramps up missile production, according to a report released in June 2021 from the US Congressional Research Service ( CRS ). Despite rising demand due to global conflicts and evolving threats, the US industrial base is constrained by aging infrastructure, limited production capacity, and supply chain vulnerabilities.
Current PGM initiatives involve complex technologies like GPS, laser, and inertial navigation systems, which call for the use of highly developed components and skills.
The proliferation of potent anti-access/area-denial ( A2/AD ) systems by adversaries like China and Russia, such as the HQ-18 and S-500 surface-to-air missiles, further stresses the need for longer-range and higher-precision munitions. These difficulties are made worse by budgetary constraints and the lengthy delays in developing and fielding new weapons.
Seth Jones and Alexander Palmer’s CSIS report from March 2024 highlights the rapid development of weapons systems, particularly PGMs, as a result of China’s transition to a wartime footing.
China has launched more ballistic missiles for testing and training for the fourth consecutive year than any other country combined, and both China’s arsenal and quantity are rapidly increasing. In contrast, there are shortages of US munitions, such as those from the LRASM and Tomahawk, which are made worse by a lack of multiyear procurement plans.
Innovative solutions like General Atomics ‘ Strike Missile represent a step in the right direction as the US attempts to close its missile firepower gap with China. However, overcoming the entrenched challenges of limited production capacity, aging infrastructure, and bureaucratic inefficiencies will require more than technological advances.
Without significant changes to its defense-industrial base, the US runs the risk of losing its strategic position in the Pacific, which it cannot afford. The question remains: Can the US retain its role as the “arsenal of democracy” in 21st-century great power competition?