Leg - there are those of us who have actually worked for the military,auto, truck and transport industries - and we know just how fast you can tool up for production if need be and what the capabilities are. And given the timing of the war and the Chinese Soviet war there was more than enough time for the US to ramp up production and get the US juggernaut started - most likely they were just getting to where they would have been able to start replacing their losses and re-equip their forces when the Soviet missiles hit.
Are we talking about a WWII build up and the Arsenal of Democracy - no. But are we talking about being able to triple to quadruple production over that time on existing lines and get some new tooling made for things like light armored vehicles - yes that for sure can be done.
Our line at BAE in York was designed to be able to accommodate up to three times the volume we produced at if we had to do it. During the time I was there we ramped up to two times our regular volume using stored tools and hiring and training new workers - it took a total of six months to do it. Three times would have taken nine months to a year.
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