Inhofe says China, Russia gaining on U.S. military
U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe called for more military spending Tuesday, contrasting the American military with advancements made in Russia and China. Inhofe criticized the decades-long reduction in number of combat aircraft and artillery units and said adversaries of the United States are modernizing their fighting forces more quickly. “China and Russia have increased all during the years that we have decreased,” said Inhofe, R-Tulsa. “And in some cases, they’ve passed us.” The Department of Defense budget has doubled since 2001 but experienced a five-year decline in appropriations between fiscal years 2011 and 2015 as the United States began drawing down its involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan. Last year, President Donald Trump signed a bill that boosted military spending by $160 billion over two years as the budget returned to its pre-decline level. Last month, however, the president tweeted that he wants to start talks with Chinese and Russian leaders about ending an uncontrollable arms race, calling the United States’ $716 billion national defense budget “crazy.” Inhofe predicts next year’s defense budget will top $750 billion. More military spending, especially if the military continues to focus on modernizing its forces, will likely lead to more spending through private contractors who develop new technologies.
More artillery than us
After the Cold War, the United States
has better fighter aircraft and military equipment than Russia and China, Inhofe said.
“When I go out and talk to people, there’s an assumption that we have the very best of everything. That used to be the case,” he said. “At this rate, it would take over 40 years to modernize a fleet that’s already too old and too small.”
He also highlighted those countries’ artillery capability, especially the arms used when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2014.
“We are now in a situation where both of these countries not only have more artillery than us, theirs is better than ours,” Inhofe said.
Inhofe’s presentation Tuesday is the fourth in a weekly series of Senate floor speeches about national security. Along with speeches about military spending and a report on the national defense strategy, Inhofe advocated for a modernization of the United States’ nuclear arsenal.