Members of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party engaged in a bipartisan simulation led by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) to assess the state of the U.S. Defense Industrial Base. The exercise focused on a hypothetical conflict involving Taiwan in the Indo-Pacific region, aiming to explore how Congress can strengthen America's defense capabilities.
The simulation, set in 2026, revealed significant challenges facing the U.S. defense industrial base. Chairman John Moolenaar commented on the exercise's findings: "In our tabletop exercise today, we walked through one simulation of what might happen in a worst-case scenario conflict with China and learned ways we can work together in a bipartisan manner to ensure that America is prepared to be the Arsenal of Democracy once more if called upon."
Key results highlighted deficiencies such as low munitions supplies and substantial losses in naval and air forces. Specifically, critical munitions like LRASMs and JASSM-ER were depleted quickly, while U.S. naval forces suffered losses including two aircraft carriers and several other vessels. Airpower was also significantly impacted with hundreds of fighter aircraft destroyed.
The current production capacity of the U.S. defense industry was deemed insufficient to replace these losses promptly. In contrast, China's superior shipbuilding capacity positions it better for replenishing its military assets.
The simulation identified several critical issues within the U.S. defense industrial base: limited production capabilities for essential components like solid rocket motors and microelectronics; long timelines for producing key munitions; inadequate stockpiles for prolonged conflicts; workforce shortages; and slow acquisition processes reflective of peacetime operations.
