Saving The Defense Industrial Base

The end of the Cold War, the evolving mission of the U.S. Armed Services, the dramatic improvements in commercial manufacturingâ€"these and other trends are changing how we provide for the common defense. What will we need in the way of defense manufacturing in the year 2010â€"a short few years away? How should we best spend our defense funds? Defense Manufacturing in 2010 and Beyond sets forth a vision for the nation's defense manufacturing, including policies, technologies, systems, processes, practices, and financial implications. Eight specific trends are forecastâ€"defense spending, the relationship between defense and commerical industries, the nature of the threat to our nation, the emergence of new technologies, and other areasâ€"and their implications for defense manufacturing are explored. The committee describes manufacturing advancements that are around the cornerâ€"virtual enterprise, and moreâ€"and examines how these breakthroughs will likely meet or fail to meet defense manufacturing requirements. This expert panel identifies the highest priorities and recommends strategies for matching future manufacturing capabilities with our defense needs. February

International defense industrial sectors have faced many challenges over the last twenty years, and in the current environment they struggle with the need to maintain critical aspects of the defense industrial base. Because the defense sector in the US is interconnected with other global defense and industry sectors, decisions made in one sector impact those of other countries and other areas of the economy. Dr. Hensel examines the interrelationship between these forces both historically and in the current environment, assessing the implications for the future global defense industrial base.

The Panel on Business Challenges within the Defense Industry conducted hearings, held roundtable discussions with industry, and reviewed many studies and publications that have examined the Defense Industrial Base (DIB) in order to gain insight into the complexity of the industrial base and the wide variety of factors influencing business behaviour and the shaping of the DIB. These efforts highlighted that the DIB is unique in that the Department of Defense (DOD) plays a role as both the customer and regulator of the DIB. This book provides several recommendations that the Panel believes will improve the defence business environment, reduce barriers to entry, spur innovation, increase competition, and aid in getting critical technology into the hands of the Warfighter.