TOPIC SPONSOR: HAF/A5SM Strategic Assessments
Advantage in time-based military-technological competitions is derived from the defense industry’s ability to translate widely available technology into military capability more quickly that other industrial bases with similar technology access. While the technology selection may not guarantee the right technologies are fielded, defense industry competence enables militaries greater opportunity to await developments and thereby reduce the level of uncertainty about capabilities that are needed.
How might the United States seek to transform a relatively consolidated defense industry so that it can meet the new military challenges that are emerging under very different conditions from those during the Cold War and the Global War on Terror? How can the DoD ensure the long-term economic health of the defense sector if it were to adjust current procurement strategy towards one that may better reduce risks to U.S. security? What are the dynamics within the current defense industry that are incongruent with emerging trends in the technology, economic, and security environment?
What are the barriers to developing defense industry competence in managing uncertainty (e.g., DoD acquisition system, RDT&E and procurement strategy, and competition within the aerospace and defense industries)? What are the preparedness and critical requirements within the defense industrial base to respond to and support a protracted war? What changes in the technology landscape may be challenging the traditional aerospace and defense (A&D) industrial structure and value chains (e.g., payload versus platforms, hardware versus software)?
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