The joint forces of the United States and Britain launched a long-range precision attack against the Houthi group in Yemen to ensure the smooth flow of the Red Sea route. However, such a shock did not go as expected, but caused some concern within the United States. Research by American think tanks shows that the US military has once again made the mistake of the war in Afghanistan by using costly Tomahawk missiles against the Houthis' cheaper enemies, thereby quickly depleting their arms reserves. Such attrition not only impacts the US military deployment in the Asia-Pacific region to a certain extent, but also makes the Western industry face a serious capability crisis.
It is said that the United States produces 100 to 200 Tomahawk missiles a year, and Japan recently ordered 400 Tomahawk missiles from the United States, which poses a huge threat to the United States' own Tomahawks. The cost of a Tomahawk is not low, a Tomahawk in the United States costs about $2 million, while a Tomahawk in Japan costs $2.8 million. This level of **, used in Houthi tents, trucks and drones, seems to be a bit more than worth the cost. What's more, the Houthis are not without the power to fight back, they have long learned to conceal and transmit high-tech radars, missile launchers and other high-tech **, which greatly reduces the attack efficiency of the US and British ** teams.
At the same time, the US think tank said that military activities in Yemen will have a "spillover effect", that is, it will have a certain impact on the strategic layout of the Asia-Pacific region. Japan's stockpile of Tomahawk missiles in the Asia-Pacific region will be reduced to support the attack on Yemen, and orders for Tomahawk missiles from the United States will have to wait a long time. Therefore, if the United States wants to use the joint forces of the United States and Japan to intervene in the war in the Taiwan Strait, it is a fool's dream, after all, if there is no sufficient equipment, its deterrent power will be greatly reduced.
Moreover, it is not cost-effective for the United States to intercept suicide attacks and missiles by the Houthis. According to the US weekly Politic, the US Navy prefers to use the "Standard 2" Block IV anti-aircraft missiles, which cost $22 million each. And the suicide drones and missiles used by the Houthis are also old bargains, purchased from Iran, and they cost only thousands to tens of thousands of dollars. This is just like forging it with **, destroying the heavens. What's more, the suicide attacks used by the Houthis, as well as the various rockets, are navigated by wireless signals and are not used for relays, so even if the Houthi radar is destroyed, it will not be able to stop the attack.
The series of joint US-British offens in Yemen did not stop the Houthis, but on the contrary, provoked their rebellion. The Houthis claim to be attacking commercial ships in the Red Sea on a daily basis has led to unstable and unfree shipping. Such a large-scale airstrike will not only cause serious damage to Yemen's public facilities, but also have a serious impact on Yemen's political situation. China's permanent representative to the United Nations, Zhang Jun, has repeatedly called on Britain and the United States to end their military activities in Yemen, and will continue to safeguard Yemen's sovereignty and territorial integrity and provide assistance for Yemen's peace and stability.
The war waged by the joint forces of the United States and Britain in Yemen has also made people realize that in the Middle East, there are serious productivity deficiencies in Western industries. From the Palestinian-Israeli contradiction to the Russian-Ukrainian war more than two years ago, Western countries have encountered problems in terms of supply. And in this regard, South Korea is the world's largest producer of large-caliber artillery and other **. In addition, North Korea has an impressive production capacity of ammunition and missiles to support Russia. This is a deep embarrassment to the United States and some other traditional Western powers.
In this process, because in the decades after the war, because European and American countries are cutting military spending and investment, therefore, under the influence of the "peace dividend", the Western industry has contracted. For more than 20 years, the United States has focused on maintaining law and order, and the demand for heavy duty is not large. Secondly, due to the excessive dependence on the financial industry, a large number of domestic production enterprises have been lost, and the competitiveness of labor and military enterprises has also weakened. In addition, many European and American weapons have to be purchased from abroad, just like China's rare earths, most of which are purchased from abroad. This makes the manufacturing of European and American countries completely under control, and there is even a danger of being cut off.
The United States has been asking Congress for funding for the difficulties it faces in its military industry. The U.S. Department of Defense recently released its Defensive Strategy, calling on Congress to provide U.S. funding, especially for defense-related manufacturing. However, it remains to be seen whether the strategy will be approved by Congress and whether it will actually increase the output of the US military industry.