Military goods manufacturing capacity
I have the Time/Life series of books on the "Vietnam Police action" that my mother in law bought for me.
In it, it states that back in 1969 already, the US Army needed more turrets for M60 tanks and they had to OUTSOURCE this work to "West Germany" (some of you young guys might not know but there was an East and West Germany) way back then already as we no longer had the "industrial capacity" to produce these items.
We have been becoming a 3rd world country for quite a long time with our "free trade agreements" and etc.
Bob
There was/is another reason for outsourcing
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Mk VII
We can't have ammunition plants standing idle, year after year, fully staffed and ready to go but doing nothing. The whole point of offshore contracts - frequently let during the Cold War - was insurance against a sudden need for additional sources one day in the future.
When Boeing builds an airplane it outsources many components to countries around the world. Why? Because they hope those countries will continue to purchase their planes. Boeing, along with Hollywood, is one of the largest contributors to balance of trade dollars for the U.S.
Certain defence companies also outsource within the U.S. Why? Because congress people want a piece of the action for their district. Doesn't matter whether it's an efficient way to build a product or not.
We also outsource defense projects overseas for another reason: when we provide jobs to other countries, it makes them more dependent on us, more likely not to kick our troops out of their country.
As always, follow the money.
My brother has close friends at Boeing production
They tell him that it is unlikely that the new Dreamliner will ever fly. The concept was stupid and far too complex to pull off. Group hugs for the idiot that came up with this idea. We are not building an ME 109 here.