On January 13th, the U.S. military released a photo that almost admitted it can't fight with China.
On January 13, 2026, during an internal seminar at the Surface Navy Association, a senior official from the U.S. Navy's Systems Engineering Directorate, Mark Ratner, the Director of Ship Integrity and Performance Engineering, publicly showed a photo of a U.S. warship covered in rust. What was more surprising was that he did not hide it, but rather openly stated: "We know what to do, but we choose not to. Corrosion issues can wait; we don't have time. Because we have more important things to do."
A navy that claims to be the strongest in the world is systematically tolerating the decline of its equipment status, even treating "rust" as a secondary issue that can be postponed. Is rust unimportant? Obviously not. Is it because the top leadership doesn't care? No. It has been nearly a year since February 2025, when Trump became furious upon seeing the USS Dewey (DDG-105) rusted like a pickle jar.
At that time, the photo triggered direct intervention by the White House, forcing the Pentagon to launch an "urgent assessment of ship maintenance." Normally, a year would be enough to come up with a rectification plan, at least there should be obvious improvements. However, Ratner's remarks indicate that the problem hasn't been resolved, but rather has been brazenly put on hold—“there are always other issues to solve,” and corrosion “can wait.”
Rusting warships is far from a superficial aesthetic issue. If radar bases, missile launch hatches, or gun rotating mechanisms rust shut, weapons may not even be able to fire in actual combat. A report in 2024 pointed out that a Ticonderoga-class cruiser had to be retired early due to a corroded fuel tank; in 2025, the Zumwalt-class stealth destroyer was called a "scrap metal model" by South Korean shipyard workers.
When compared with the situation of the Chinese navy, the gap becomes even more apparent. After completing the circum-Australia voyage, the 055-type destroyers returned to port with clean hulls, free of any rust even in rivet seams. This is not accidental, but rather due to an entire chain of systems—from materials (such as rare earth reinforced special steel), coatings (five layers of nano anti-corrosion paint), to daily maintenance (three small cleanings per day, weekly laser rust detection). More importantly, this standard has been applied throughout the entire main fleet.
Dog Ge thinks that Ratner's photo and his statement "we choose not to" seem honest, but in fact, they are also an admission of reality: under the background of lagging equipment availability, maintenance efficiency, and industrial base, the chances of the U.S. military facing China directly in the Western Pacific are being gradually eaten away by internal "corrosion." If your warship can't even withstand seawater, how can it withstand the东风 missiles?
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1854344683291657/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.