China, however, poses the greatest threat. According to Pentagon analysis, the Chinese Communist Party will likely have a stockpile of nearly 1,500 warheads by 2035 if it continues with its current nuclear buildout and now has more ICBM launchers than the United States. China is also developing a land-attack cruise missile designed to be fired from a launcher disguised as a commercial shipping container.
We only have ourselves to blame. Our current vulnerabilities are the product of conflicting political priorities and our own shortsightedness as missile defense took a back seat to other national issues after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. The focus dissipated for the next decade.
But despite a war in Europe and the increasing adversary capabilities, the Biden administration has shown a lack of foresight. In its 2021 Missile Defense Review, President Biden ignored our defense industrial base supply chain issues and emerging technologies such as directed energy.
