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Comment by selectodude | Hacker News Reader

We can’t even make enough shells for Ukraine.

Because NATO war plans depend on air power instead of getting bogged down in artillery duels.

Boy is NATO going to have egg of their face then if they can't secure air superiority. Something something no plan survives contact with the enemy.

It's my belief NATO could easily secure air superiority in any conflict where they commit forces entirely.

Instead in Ukraine we have a proxy war where NATO countries are hesitant and reluctant to over commit.

If the 'meta' stays the same, so to speak, I would agree. But that said it's hardly unfathomable that there is a step change in the effectiveness of AA weapons in the near future. Drones, missiles, and sensors are all getting better and better and so far there hasn't been a real hard need to push for anti air drones in active conflicts (vs. anti tank and anti human).

NATO countries excluding US depleted air munitions within month in Libya: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/nato-runs-short-on-some...

Also, artillery shells is much cheaper way to deliver precise and fast strikes in urban environment compared to running aircrafts, so maybe such plans are not effective if this is really the plans.

Take a look at the invasion of Iraq during Desert Storm and realize this isn't as big of a deal as one might think.

NATO doctrine assumes we will have air superiority and has very few considerations for scenarios where that isn't the case.

We absolutely can if the government allocates the funds to help Ukraine which is cheap as hell compared to 10s of trillions of dollar for WW3 in Europe in a few years as we neglect NATO but are finally forced to. when Putin inevitably overplays his hand and attacks a NATO country because we will be ramping up for real.

"Can't", no. It all hangs on the U.S. at the moment, which could absolutely make enough shells for Ukraine if the funding authorization comes through. What's holding that up is politics, not limits in productive capacity.

https://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Gun-Barrel

Sorry, khikhil, zrada was baked in from the start. Link related.

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