The experience of the war in Ukraine serves as a prime example of the speed at which military equipment is consumed in modern warfare.
American stockpiles of weapons systems may last for only eight days in the event of a military conflict with China, as production fails to keep pace with demand and reserves dwindle, analysts warn. According to a report by Fox News, citing Palantir Chief Technology Officer Shyam Sankar, the existing United States inventories would be exhausted in just over a week in a high-intensity military confrontation with Beijing.
Shyam Sankar estimates that the experience of the war in Ukraine is a characteristic example of the speed at which military equipment is consumed in today’s combat reality. He argued that the scale of weapon usage in modern conflicts is such that it leads to a rapid depletion of available resources. According to Sankar, the decisive factor is no longer the size of current arsenals, but the ability to replenish them quickly.
In this context, he noted that American support for Kyiv led to the consumption of quantities of weaponry equivalent to roughly a decade of production within just a few weeks. At the same time, he stated that current production rates in the United States are deemed insufficient for the rapid restoration of stockpiles. Shyam Sankar spoke of a contradiction between trying to conserve resources and the need to rebuild reserves, highlighting that the situation has not triggered the necessary level of concern.
Regarding the international landscape, he pointed out that China holds a leading position in the mass production of weapons systems. Conversely, he argued that the industrial capacity of the United States in this specific sector is closer to the levels of Germany than to a country with dominant military power.
A flawed strategy
The United States is pursuing the wrong strategy regarding military deterrence, argues Palantir CTO Shyam Sankar, who believes that real power lies not in weapon stockpiles, but in the capacity to produce them. In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, Shyam Sankar emphasized that Washington has traditionally relied on the threat of large armaments reserves to discourage adversaries.
However, as he points out, the decisive factor today is "the ability to create the stockpile"—in other words, industrial production. He maintains that artificial intelligence can serve as a critical tool for rebuilding the American industrial base, allowing the US to ramp up production and regain its lead over competitors like China. He develops these positions in his new book, Mobilize: How to Reboot the American Industrial Base and Stop World War III.
The Ukraine example
According to Shyam Sankar, the war in Ukraine proves that the US is "miscalculating deterrence." "We thought the stockpile would act as a deterrent. What Ukraine showed us—as we consumed ten years of production in ten weeks of war—is that the critical element is the production capability. It is the factory," he noted pointedly.
He observed that the United States is currently producing weapons at such low rates that its power does not instill substantial fear in its rivals. "We are simultaneously hesitant to use them and anxious about how we will replace them," he said. According to his assessment, in a scenario of intense conflict with China, American stockpiles would last for approximately eight days. "This does not scare the adversary," he underlined.
What happened in World War II
Shyam Sankar also referred to the example of World War II, pointing out that Germany possessed more advanced weapons systems than the US, but in much smaller quantities. "Today, the Chinese are the best at mass production. And we are starting to look like the Germans," he stated.
However, he estimated that artificial intelligence could tip the scales, giving—as he put it—"superpowers to the American worker" and allowing the US to reclaim primacy. At the same time, he argued that China seriously underestimates the United States. "China's fundamental mistake is underestimating the American spirit. In our Judeo-Christian tradition, we show patience again and again. But at some point, we react," he noted.
China's stance
Shyam Sankar emphasized that one of the key lessons from China's stance is that innovation and production are inextricably linked. As he said, "the big lie of globalization is that we can keep the innovation and leave the production to others." Over time, he explained, those who produce also acquire the know-how, moving up the technological chain.
Simply put, he stressed that those who work daily on the production of a technology are the ones who identify opportunities for improvement and efficiency gains. Moving production abroad, he added, has deprived the US of this advantage. Regarding China, he acknowledged that it has systematically invested in closing the gap with the US since the First Gulf War, without hiding its ambitions. However, the gradual nature of this progress has—according to him—led Washington into complacency.
The role of artificial intelligence
In this light, Shyam Sankar believes that artificial intelligence can once again give the US a lead, as it is a development that China could not fully foresee. He advocates for the return of industrial production to the United States, not merely as a transfer of existing processes, but as an opportunity for radical restructuring.
"We are not going to re-industrialize symmetrically," he concluded. "We won't just copy what others are doing. We will do it in a completely different way, so as to make the return of production and critical capabilities within the country sustainable."
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