The US defense industrial base needs a revamp for speed and scale
By Jerry McGinn
Nov 21, 2024, 09:17 AM
A worker moves a 155mm artillery projectile during the manufacturing process at the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant in 2023. (Matt Rourke/AP)
One of the most pressing national security issues facing the incoming Trump administration is the resilience of our defense industrial base. The United States has the most lethal and capable fighting force in the world. However, recent experiences have demonstrated profound difficulties in our industrial base. Unless we get our defense industrial base on a war footing now, we face potentially catastrophic consequences should the balloon go up — to use a phrase first popularized in World War I to signify the imminent start of conflict — in East Asia or elsewhere.
Repeated war games have demonstrated that our munitions stocks will be decimated within a couple weeks in the event of major conflict. Significant production challenges supplying precision guided missiles to Ukrainian forces have underscored our inability to rapidly replenish weapons and major systems. While significant resources and attention have been focused on addressing these shortcomings recently, past mobilizations demonstrate that we are not doing enough. To deter our potential adversaries, we recommend three major actions that should be pursued in the coming term.
1. Speed. Despite a decade’s focus on innovating with commercial technology and using faster contract vehicles, the defense acquisition system largely remains focused on developing exquisite systems that take much too long to deliver. The Navy, for example, selected the “mature design” of the Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri Maritime Marine for its future frigate program back in 2020. One of the major reasons for its selection was the variant built for the U.S. Navy in a Wisconsin shipyard would have 85% commonality with existing models already in service in numerous foreign navies. Design alterations made by Navy engineers, however, dramatically reduced the commonality to 20% and added 3 years to construction timelines.
https://www.defensenews.com/opinion/2024/11/21/the-us-defense-industrial-base-needs-a-revamp-for-speed-and-scale/
