Not sure where youre going with this. But we do spend a huge amount these days on ISR equipment, technology, and personnel. These do impact readiness and effectiveness just prior and during a conflict to help understand the battlespace. But I would submit their more common application is peacetime surveillance.
Correct, but so do Russia and China. Here are some differences in the spending though, that have nothing to do with the effectiveness of the product.
1. Soldier pay. We pay our soldiers a great deal more than the Russians and Chinese. In fact, I would not be surprised if, per soldier, we pay more than both Russia and China combined.
2. Materials cost. Our contracts for military contractors who produce these things require that these contractors spend more money on the materials they use than is required in Russia and China. We require our contractors to use US steel, and our government does not get that steel at a discount. Russia and China certainly rely on their own ore deposits, for the most part, and their own forges, for the most part, for their materials. Yet, most of these are nationalized, so they are paying a great discount. At the end of the day, Russia and China have the (nearly) same quality steel, but at a significantly reduced cost.
3. Labor costs. Our contracts for military contractors also require that these companies use domestic labor. And, the use of domestic labor means, in the US, that they are paying a premium. Again, in Russia and China, they may be using domestic labor, but such labor is often coerced and they are paying a discount.
4. Safety costs. Our contracts...require that the production facilities not only comply with US safety requirements but, often, exceed such requirements. Again, this entails paying a premium. Russia and China are not paying these premiums.
5. Toxic Waste and Chemical Disposal. Our contracts...require that these producers comply with very stringent requirements regarding the proper disposal of toxic and chemical waste. This is costly. As such, we pay a premium. Russia and China do not pay that premium.
These five areas impose huge financial burdens, and those financial burdens are a part of the costs that go into these comparisons (and, I haven't even included the requirements around food at mess halls and cafeterias in posts and in these production facilities, the requirements around disposal of oil in motor pools, etc.). We can go down the line of everything we spend in order to gain an advantage of combat and we will find that we are paying premiums for this where Russia and China are getting discounts.
That is, there is no way to simply look at military spending and then assert that it somehow will or, even in theory, should positively correlate with combat effectiveness.
