Mobilizing the Defense Industrial Base in the Event of Major Conflict

Abstract

Increasing tensions in the Pacific, sudden conflict in the Levant, and continuing support for the war in Ukraine continue to strain the capacity of the U.S. defense industrial base. While some progress has been made increasing the production of munitions since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, challenges with acquisition approaches, budget processes, and other issues continue to stymie defense production despite significant leadership attention and resources focused on this issue. This condition will simply not suffice in the event of major conflict involving U.S. and allied forces in Asia or elsewhere. This paper will examine past and recent efforts to dramatically increase defense production and address the research question, how can DoD truly mobilize the industrial base to rapidly scale production to support National Defense Strategy (NDS) objectives? Resources are certainly important, but the Ukraine experience has demonstrated the limits of resources alone to increase speed. DoD and Congress, working in partnership with industry, need to rethink acquisition policies and incentive structures to design and deliver capabilities at the speed required to meet today’s challenges; reform elements of the Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution (PPBE) process to enable the rapid insertion of capabilities to meet warfighter needs; foster contracting practices that incentivize and facilitate rapid production; and ensure that the right authorities are in place to accomplish these objectives. From this analysis, the author will develop a set of recommendations for policies, incentives, process changes, practices, and authorities that enable effective industrial mobilization. Many of these activities are needed now, but they will be essential—even existential—in the event of a major conflict involving U.S. and allied forces. This paper will also complement and buttress the author’s 2023 NPS ARS paper on a developing a Build Allied approach to increasing industrial base capacity.