Before discussing the prospects for developing a strategy that will preserve the few truly critical elements of America’s arsenal, it is important to understand what sort of an economic enterprise the defense industrial base is. In the Department of Defense’s September 2011 report to Congress on the defense industry, the Office of Manufacturing & Industrial Base Policy (MIBP) stated that maintaining a “strong, technologically vibrant, and financially successful defense industry is . . . in the national interest.” I wholeheartedly agree. As Norm Augustine, the former chief executive officer of Lockheed Martin, has observed, the U.S. defense industry helped to win the Cold War and has produced weaponry and equipment that have been the envy of the world’s militaries. I believe that a healthy defense industrial base will continue to be a source of strategic advantage for the United States in the decades ahead.
Testimonies