Vital Signs 2020: Industrial Base Could Struggle to Surge Production in Wartime

The U.S. industrial base would be challenged to ramp up production to meet wartime requirements in the event of a protracted great power conflict, analysts and Pentagon officials say.

The National Defense Industrial Association’s new report, “Vital Signs: The Declining Health and Readiness of the Defense Industrial Base,” said 27 percent of critical defense supplier industries would likely experience shortages in the event of a surge in demand for combat-essential products.

That finding is of particular concern in the new strategic environment.

In the decades following the Cold War, the United States was focused on regional wars such as Iraq and Afghanistan, noted Mark Cancian, senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Read the full story and more in National Defense Magazine.