How Operation Epic Fury could reduce US readiness to face China
A US sailor assigned to the USS Delbert D Black directs an MH-60R. (Photo: US Navy)
The offensive against Iran could impact training and maintenance cycles and accelerate the degradation of the US arsenal on top of depleting Washington’s stockpiles.
The ongoing US attacks against Iran could have a deep, long-term impact on the Pentagon’s readiness, analysts have said, especially if the Joint Force is deployed in a long-lasting campaign. This could, in various ways, lower the country’s capacity to withstand a future conflict against China.
Aside from reducing Washington stockpiles of weapons and ammunition, Operation Epic Fury has also been showing off the US’s tactics and strategies to Beijing.
For Joe Costa, director of forward defence within the Atlantic Council thinktank, the US has “unquestionably” lost its tactical advantage over its adversaries because “China and Russia are watching this extremely closely”
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