Defense Manufacturing: A Crisis in the Making

National Defense Magazine (Lawrence Farrell, President & CEO, NDIA) - Defense manufacturing is like the weather. Everyone talks about it, but no one does anything...A recent Defense Science Board Report titled, “Creating a National Security Industrial Base for the 21st Century: An Action Plan to Address the Coming Crisis,” concluded that Defense Department policies actually impede the transition to an affordable military force for the 21st century. Current policies don’t facilitate development or deployment of affordable, innovative systems. Government acquisition policies, the study said, will not produce the required competitive, responsive, efficient and innovative industrial base. The NDIA Manufacturing Division has identified six issues that demand attention.

1. The first issue is the need to recognize that U.S. firms now have incentives to manufacture domestically and keep jobs at home.
2. Next is the issue of foreign and domestic environmental policies.
3. Unstable budgets impede industry’s ability to plan and budget.
4. Another critical issue is the need for steady, long-term access to affordable raw materials.
5. Shortage of skilled labor is another well-known concern.
6. These problems are exacerbated when administration leaders lack business experience of the type that leads to an understanding of requisites such as meeting payroll, making investments in advanced technology and manufacturing, and competition.

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