Military hardware as a signpost

It is hard not to equate military spending and purchasing with diplomatic or strategic plans being made, for reasons otherwise unknown. Keeping an eye out for the physical stuff can often begin to shine a light on what’s coming – good and possibly very bad.

Without Congressional specific approval, the Pentagon has awarded a contract to Boeing for $8,600,000,000 (US taxpayer dollars) for another 25 F-15A attack fighters to be given to Israel. Oh, and there’s another 25 more of the F-15EX variant on option, free to Israel as well.

Meanwhile, many European countries have switched their purchases of the F-35 fighters to the French Rafale or the Joint European Fighter as well as Saab’s advanced concept fighter Gripen.Turkey and Airbus, meanwhile, have sold the Hurjet trainer to Spain and other countries over the US trainer. And France is about to begin laying the keel for a new aircraft carrier (though that will take almost a decade). Meanwhile, Airbus is now, since 2024, the primary supplier to all EU countries for military helicopters… Saab is making GlobalEye airborne aircraft for France, Italy and Germany… France’s Rafale Company is making and delivering Iron Beam high-energy laser weapons… Airbus has ramped up delivery to all its new EU customers of 18 new C295 tactical transports.

Some may wonder why EU leaders as well as the UK, have been so soft tongued when it comes to this Administration’s recent diplomatic transgressions over Greenland (oops, Iceland?). The reason is simple: For decades the US has been the cheapest and best supplier of the finest military hardware – planes, tanks, weapon systems, and defense capability. What every nation understood was that the US held the controls of the safe operation of those aircraft. For example, the electronics of every F-35 can be controlled remotely from the US. Go against us? We can pull the plug. That was never an issue before, where we had trust and mutual goals. The current rush to re-prioritize local EU manufacture and longer term self reliance in the EU is a direct consequence of this Administration’s changing of priorities and allied trust.

It is true that DJT can take credit for EU and UK increased military budgeting and preparedness, his actions have forced them to that reality. It is also true that his long term damage to American jobs and industry are just now becoming evident as less of our hardware is attractive to foreign buyers and our military oversight will be slowly eroded to a position where nations no longer feel the need for diplomatic or industrial reliance on America.

Peter Riva, a former resident of Amenia Union, New York, now lives in Gila, New Mexico.