It can’t just be because america shipped all its industry overseas. America has always wanted to be self sufficient right? Including procurement? So why do they now buy their tanks from German Rheinmetall, or not make their own guns anymore? Surely the benefit of self sufficiency is still there
This question writ large would be a much better fit for r/warcollege, but there are some basic factual misconceptions here which should be corrected before you try there. The US military produces & procures its tanks and most of its small arms domestically. For instance, the M1 Abrams is majority produced by General Dynamics Land Systems in Lima, Ohio, with subcomponents produced at other (majority domestic) manufacturers.