American Military Tech: Absolute Dominance or Overpriced Junk?
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American Military Tech: Absolute Dominance or Overpriced Junk?
Written by Horus L. · Editor: Ishaan M. · Graphic Designer: Constance Z.
5 minute read · 5th May 2026, Tuesday
This article will discuss the current state of the US military technology, after experiencing controversy in recent conflicts causing doubt towards its supposed superiority.
In the recent months, we have seen the United States of America enter many small scale conflicts in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Central America. The so-called “military superpower” has not shown the slightest amount of restraint when it comes to exercising its ability to deliver “freedom”. However its performance in these wars has caused many to doubt America’s actual wartime capabilities.
There is no doubt that America possesses some of the most advanced technology when it comes to warfare, harbouring ballistic missiles, aircraft carriers, missiles, etc. However the world has only just begun to see how some of America’s strength may come only from its intimidation alone.
America is known for spending trillions of dollars on its military budget alone each year, however on second thought, this figure might seem to be a fatal flaw rather than an impressive feat. Over the years, many audits have shown that the American military has been overcharged for basic items such as coffee machines, switches, and other basic items. These overcharges cost the American military billions of dollars in loss each year. This poses the question, is the American Military actually impressive, or is it just really wasteful? Looking at what other programs such as NASA can achieve with a hundredth of the budget, it puts into perspective how uneconomic the US military really is.
With its recent participation in a conflict with Iran, people have begun to doubt whether the US can actually maintain a long term conflict. Iran shoots missiles at other countries with US military bases within them, with each missile costing Iran a few thousand to produce. However, each interceptor that the US uses costs millions of dollars, and with the US having to use an average of 2 interceptors to shoot the missiles down, it is already costing a massive loss for the US. Even if Iran has a much smaller military budget, the difference in the amount of money each country spends is already shocking enough to cause worry. Even with a trillion dollar budget, the US military still doesn't fix the fundamental issue of cost.
Moreover, the US military has also been unable to reopen the strait of Hormuz, even with Iran's navy “destroyed”, and the US Navy positioned close by. This represents a big fault in the US Military, as it shows that while they are strong in their ability to strike from afar, they lack the ability to end the conflict swiftly with an ocean or ground invasion.
With this in mind, can we still really say that the US qualifies as the world's “military superpower?” Even though no one currently can match them, we have countries like China currently on the rise, which means they will likely be overtaken soon.
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