SIMI VALLEY, Calif. - America’s defense industry is struggling to stay ahead in a high-tech arms race with foreign competitors, according to a November dated but unreleased draft of a new Defense Department report on the defense industry warns.
The first ever National Defense Industrial Strategy, which is set to be released in the coming weeks by Pentagon acquisition chief William LaPlante, is meant to be a comprehensive look at what DoD needs in order to tap into the expertise of small tech firms, while funding and supporting traditional companies to move faster to develop new technologies.
As it stands now, the U.S. defense industrial base “does not possess the capacity, capability, responsiveness, or resilience required to satisfy the full range of military production needs at speed and scale,” according to a draft version of the report, obtained by POLITICO.
The document notes that America builds the best weapons, but can’t produce them quickly enough.
“This mismatch presents a growing strategic risk ... of supporting active combat operations … while deterring the larger and more technically advanced pacing threat looming in the Indo-Pacific,” the study says.
Speaking at the Reagan National Defense Forum, LaPlante said the strategy will be executed as a “partnership” with industry.
For businesses to expand production capacity, they need DOD to be clear about its future purchasing needs for them to invest in new factories and R&D. (Politico 12/02/23) Pentagon: US arms industry struggling to keep up with China - POLITICO
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