ASP in the News: Board Member LTG Daniel Christman Discusses Ammunition Production in Real Clear Defense
On April 29, ASP board member LTG Daniel Christman, USA (Ret.) published an op-ed in Real Clear Defense examining vulnerabilities in U.S. ammunition production brought to light by the war in Ukraine. Noting that neither the U.S. nor its NATO allies were prepared for the level of production required to maintain a hot war vs. Russia, General Christman explores the multiple points of vulnerability of U.S. small arms ammunition production. He explains:
“With all NATO member states facing difficulties in producing the amount of ammunition and equipment needed to support Ukraine’s continued self-preservation, allied countries should examine the manufacturing bottlenecks and vulnerabilities that could worsen the problem. One critical example is the dearth of companies that produce ammunition primers, which ignite the powder in an ammunition cartridge. There are only four fully operational manufacturers of primers in the U.S…”
Explaining that those manufacturers are owned by only two companies, Christman highlights the DoD’s own findings that about market consolidation of defense manufacturing:
Even if output increases in the short term, consolidation increases procurement costs and reduces supply chain resilience in the long run. In 2022, a report by the U.S. Department of Defense noted that market consolidation of the military industrial complex poses a national security risk.
Read the full op-ed at Real Clear Defense.
