«why any military wanting to get the best edge would by those woefully performing too highly priced weapons the Empire and its vassals produce.»
Overpriced is simply imperial tribute and they work fairly well but not as well as they could because they are over-specified as they are peacetime demo weapons. The USA arms industry prioritizes executive bonuses over results but that does not matter since this is merely a proxy war planned to be lost by Ukraine so the USA have not started anything serious yet. When the USA oligarchs want to start anything serious they act quite differently and do mass production of cheap stuff (e.g. Liberty ships) pretty well, my usual example about the B29 bomber:
“The project was a hideously complex and expensive weapons program with a total cost more than double that of the Manhattan Project, requiring the coordination of thousands of contractors and production facilities spread across the United States. After Boeing missed multiple deadlines to deliver combat-worthy planes to the U.S. Army Air Force, Hap Arnold empowered General Bennett Meyers to take control of the production process and do everything possible to bring out the plane; ‘The Battle of Kansas’ thus ensued. Thousands of technicians from all over the country were called into Wichita, modification centers at Great Bend, Pratt, Walter, and Salina, working in subzero weather and snowstorms. The shock force of aircraft technicians replaced the plating on the wings, the glass in the cockpit, modified the cowl flaps around the engines, and removed, replaced, and resoldered every electrical connection. The ‘Battle of Kansas’ involved direct military control over civilian workforce, and it furnished an example of how centralized authority and accountability could quickly yield results. Within weeks, the first B-29s were flying. By the war’s end, Boeing delivered more than 3,600 Superfortresses.”
"By Mid January 1944, 97 B-29s had been built by Wichita. Unfortunately only 16 of these were flyable with most of them grounded at "Modification Centers" [4] or on the 1,626,100 sq ft (151,070 sq m) parking/delivery apron at the Wichita plant pending urgent modification. The basic design of the B-29 was sound, but significant shortcuts had been taken in the rush to get it into service, causing numerous defects and quality problems. The Boeing-run organization, which should have been getting the B-29s ready for battle, collapsed under the strain."
WRT "Thousands of technicians from all over the country were called into Wichita, ..." I would ask does USA have thousands of technicians of equivalent ability any more?
"After about five weeks of exhausting work the first combat-ready B-29s started taking off on the first leg of the long journey to China. The final airframe took off for Smoky Hill Army Airfield (Smoky Hill AFB / Schilling AFB / Salina Regional Airport) on April 15, 1944. General Arnold had won the "Battle of Kansas" and was getting his 175 combat-ready Superfortresses."
Does that mean Boeing managed to produce 3,425 B-29's by 2nd September 1945?
Your faith in USA oligarchs is probably misplaced and also suggests that those USA oligarchs do not take the idea of Balkanising Russia seriously despite all the planning documents produces by the so-called 'think tanks' devoted to the objective.
Very curious that ironicskeptic's comments don't appear on my activities listing. its assertion that US industry is bigger now than in 1940 is correct, but much smaller than 1945.
«WRT "Thousands of technicians from all over the country were called into Wichita, ..." I would ask does USA have thousands of technicians of equivalent ability any more?»
Sure they do as USA industry actually in absolute quantity is bigger today than in 1940 (it even makes more cars than it did then). Also the great USA ace is waving green cards and promising higher salaries and then picking the best from the huge queues of applicants from every other country.
Sooner or later though every "get ahead" person will be competing for work visas for fast-moving highly-paid jobs in ChangDe or HangZhou or NanJing, so the USA oligarchs are trying to bottle the PRC inside a new Iron Curtain.
«Does that mean Boeing managed to produce 3,425 B-29's by 2nd September 1945?»
For example in in 1944 the USA produced 38,000 fighters and recently it is around 250. Note also from the table how fast the ramping up was.
«Your faith in USA oligarchs is probably misplaced»
I have the same level of faith Putin has: he has repeatedly warned that the USA+EU have enormously higher population, wealth and productive capacity potential than the RF.
«suggests that those USA oligarchs do not take the idea of Balkanising Russia seriously»
It took them 40 years (1950-1990) to balkanise the USSR, they plan for the long term.
Have you seen the latest "horrendous performance of US/NATO weaponry and systems" in Kiev (particularly air defense)? Andrei Martyanov has a prime example: https://smoothiex12.blogspot.com/2025/05/404-decided-to.html
«why any military wanting to get the best edge would by those woefully performing too highly priced weapons the Empire and its vassals produce.»
Overpriced is simply imperial tribute and they work fairly well but not as well as they could because they are over-specified as they are peacetime demo weapons. The USA arms industry prioritizes executive bonuses over results but that does not matter since this is merely a proxy war planned to be lost by Ukraine so the USA have not started anything serious yet. When the USA oligarchs want to start anything serious they act quite differently and do mass production of cheap stuff (e.g. Liberty ships) pretty well, my usual example about the B29 bomber:
https://im1776.com/2024/03/18/boeing-decline/
“The project was a hideously complex and expensive weapons program with a total cost more than double that of the Manhattan Project, requiring the coordination of thousands of contractors and production facilities spread across the United States. After Boeing missed multiple deadlines to deliver combat-worthy planes to the U.S. Army Air Force, Hap Arnold empowered General Bennett Meyers to take control of the production process and do everything possible to bring out the plane; ‘The Battle of Kansas’ thus ensued. Thousands of technicians from all over the country were called into Wichita, modification centers at Great Bend, Pratt, Walter, and Salina, working in subzero weather and snowstorms. The shock force of aircraft technicians replaced the plating on the wings, the glass in the cockpit, modified the cowl flaps around the engines, and removed, replaced, and resoldered every electrical connection. The ‘Battle of Kansas’ involved direct military control over civilian workforce, and it furnished an example of how centralized authority and accountability could quickly yield results. Within weeks, the first B-29s were flying. By the war’s end, Boeing delivered more than 3,600 Superfortresses.”
"By Mid January 1944, 97 B-29s had been built by Wichita. Unfortunately only 16 of these were flyable with most of them grounded at "Modification Centers" [4] or on the 1,626,100 sq ft (151,070 sq m) parking/delivery apron at the Wichita plant pending urgent modification. The basic design of the B-29 was sound, but significant shortcuts had been taken in the rush to get it into service, causing numerous defects and quality problems. The Boeing-run organization, which should have been getting the B-29s ready for battle, collapsed under the strain."
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Kansas)
WRT "Thousands of technicians from all over the country were called into Wichita, ..." I would ask does USA have thousands of technicians of equivalent ability any more?
"After about five weeks of exhausting work the first combat-ready B-29s started taking off on the first leg of the long journey to China. The final airframe took off for Smoky Hill Army Airfield (Smoky Hill AFB / Schilling AFB / Salina Regional Airport) on April 15, 1944. General Arnold had won the "Battle of Kansas" and was getting his 175 combat-ready Superfortresses."
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Kansas)
Does that mean Boeing managed to produce 3,425 B-29's by 2nd September 1945?
Your faith in USA oligarchs is probably misplaced and also suggests that those USA oligarchs do not take the idea of Balkanising Russia seriously despite all the planning documents produces by the so-called 'think tanks' devoted to the objective.
Very curious that ironicskeptic's comments don't appear on my activities listing. its assertion that US industry is bigger now than in 1940 is correct, but much smaller than 1945.
"Very curious that ironicskeptic's comments don't appear on my activities listing."
Does the reply to my post appear?
Yes, it’s how I discovered the other comments.
Curious and curiouser. Perhaps it will gradually fade away until only a smile will remain?
Given "its assertion that US industry is bigger now than in 1940 is correct, but much smaller than 1945." the style is very BBC and UK MSM generally.
Agreed. The tale found at the following link is well told and full of very interesting info beyond the tale’s title. The author I’ve followed for many years and weaves an excellent narrative. https://oceanofpdf.com/authors/dave-lindorff/pdf-epub-spy-for-no-country-the-story-of-ted-hall-the-teenage-atomic-spy-who-may-have-saved-the-world-download/
«WRT "Thousands of technicians from all over the country were called into Wichita, ..." I would ask does USA have thousands of technicians of equivalent ability any more?»
Sure they do as USA industry actually in absolute quantity is bigger today than in 1940 (it even makes more cars than it did then). Also the great USA ace is waving green cards and promising higher salaries and then picking the best from the huge queues of applicants from every other country.
Sooner or later though every "get ahead" person will be competing for work visas for fast-moving highly-paid jobs in ChangDe or HangZhou or NanJing, so the USA oligarchs are trying to bottle the PRC inside a new Iron Curtain.
«Does that mean Boeing managed to produce 3,425 B-29's by 2nd September 1945?»
It was not just B29s:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_aircraft_production_during_World_War_II
For example in in 1944 the USA produced 38,000 fighters and recently it is around 250. Note also from the table how fast the ramping up was.
«Your faith in USA oligarchs is probably misplaced»
I have the same level of faith Putin has: he has repeatedly warned that the USA+EU have enormously higher population, wealth and productive capacity potential than the RF.
«suggests that those USA oligarchs do not take the idea of Balkanising Russia seriously»
It took them 40 years (1950-1990) to balkanise the USSR, they plan for the long term.