A Blueprint for Next-Generation Defense Production

"The Pentagon's push to its slow, specification-driven procurement system is an overdue acknowledgment that our defense industrial base has become too narrow, too fragile, and too dependent on foreign supply chains. America's defense establishment is finally waking up to a critical weakness that has metastasized in recent decades: we have drifted away from the industrial might that once formed the bedrock of our economy and allowed us to out-produce any adversary in the world."

"While there are many warning signs, one symptom of the problem is unmistakably clear: The United States is not producing what it needs at the speed and scale modern conflict demands. Recent reporting shows the U.S. Army is still struggling to meet its 155mm artillery-shell production goals after years of effort. Across the spectrum-from advanced missile interceptors to something as basic as black powder-we are falling dangerously behind in both production capacity and supply-chain resilience."

"If we are serious about winning the next war-or better yet, deter it-we must both how we buy military equipment and weapons, and how fast we can make them. We don't need another half measure or a fully government solution. Instead, the government should leverage the private sector to build a nationwide network of multifaceted, resilient manufacturing nodes that can surge production of everything from drones, vehicles, and body armor to medicine, munitions, and microelectronics in times of crisis, while sustaining production lines for commercial products in peacetime. The power of the U.S. economy can, and should, be leveraged to solve this problem."

The Pentagon identifies a degraded U.S. defense industrial base that is too narrow, fragile, and dependent on foreign supply chains. The United States is failing to produce munitions and equipment at the speed and scale modern conflicts demand, shown by persistent shortfalls such as 155mm artillery-shell production and gaps across missiles, propellants, and microelectronics. A major war could force rationing, deployment of untested prototypes, and a defense industrial base racing to catch up. The government should leverage the private sector to establish a nationwide network of resilient manufacturing nodes that can surge production in crises while sustaining commercial output in peacetime.

Read at The Cipher Brief