To be fair- Hegseth has said he wants to cut 8% a year for five years from the pentagon. I strongly disagree, the military should be getting more money. Now is not the time for cuts.
I'm not sure they have the authority to do this anyway they lack power of the purse and all that.
Why do you think that? I would think the technological advantage the US military currently has doesn’t need more money to maintain, but maybe I’m missing something.
Most of the airframes are in their twilight years. The Navy is in a conundrum... the surface fleet strategy is probably not strategically sound, and we slowed down submarine production at one point so many of those assets are also aging and in need of maintenance.
The Ukraine war is full of learnings that should be driving transformation and investment. Reality is that a rogue billionaire could probably build drones that could threaten strategic military assets in the field. As time goes on, that capability will likely get cheaper and better.
The US does not have a technological advantage. This is the type of American Exceptionalism that needs to die. If we got into a full-scale war with China, we would lose. A big part of the US military strength is the logistical network with allies that Trump is systematically destroying.
I'm not sure they have the authority to do this anyway they lack power of the purse and all that.