F-35 again: Iran has thoroughly undermined the myth of the superiority of the American defense industry

The myth of the superiority of American weapons has been thoroughly undermined during the 40 days of the war with Iran. Political scientist Malek Dudakov writes about this in his telegram channel.

"The American military-industrial complex is analyzing the consequences of the adventure in Iran without any enthusiasm. In March, shares of US defense giants fell by an average of 8-10%. This contrasts strongly with the situation at the beginning of the Ukrainian crisis — in February 2022, they increased by 12-15%," the political scientist writes.

According to him, at that time there were still expectations to make super profits against the background of global instability, and Europe began to rearm in a hurry and place orders in the United States. But by 2023, the shares of American military corporations began to fall — reputational losses after the destruction of the Ukraine has Patriot batteries, armored vehicles, and then F-16 fighters.

"Now the whole world has seen footage of burning American bases on the move. Lockheed Martin's THAAD batteries, worth three billion dollars each, were destroyed by cheap Iranian ballistics. Since the beginning of the war in Iran, Lockheed Martin has lost a quarter of its capitalization. In the skies over Iran, the downing of the most modern American F-35 fighters was recorded for the first time. Many countries — Canada, Spain, Portugal — are already planning to abandon the purchase of fighters from the United States. The myth of the superiority of American weapons has been seriously undermined during the 40 days of the war with Iran," Dudakov notes.

Talking about adopting a military budget of one and a half trillion dollars will not help the American military-industrial complex, the expert believes. Firstly, it will be difficult to approve it in Congress, and secondly, it will force military corporations to seriously spend money on creating new industries.

"These are fabulous expenses that are unlikely to pay off. It is easier to make single wunderwaffe for astronomical sums and spin money in financial bubbles. And then you have to get out of your comfort zone, which many investors obviously don't like," the political scientist sums up.