September 24, 2026
Sharper | Securing America’s Defense Industrial Base
Six months of war with Iran has depleted America’s munitions capacity, leaving stockpiles of interceptors and precision weapons dangerously low and demand above the replacement rate of production. The United States urgently needs new strategies to prepare the defense industrial base (DIB) for present and future challenges. In this edition of Sharper, CNAS experts analyze how the United States can revitalize America’s DIB, with policy recommendations aimed at the military, Congress, and industry to harness the collective potential of America’s defense sector. Continue reading this edition of Sharper to learn more.
Features:
Series | The New American Defense Industrial Base
The U.S. DIB has long struggled with persistent challenges across the supply chain—a danger exacerbated by the Iran war’s depletion of critical munitions stockpiles. In the commentary series The New American Defense Industrial Base, 14 guest authors, including former senior military leaders, venture capitalists, and start-up executives, offer their perspectives on reforming the DIB, leveraging their extensive experience to deliver timely recommendations for the public and private sector.
Report | Drones, Missiles, and the U.S. Munitions Shortage
Although drones have been used extensively in recent global conflicts, critical questions linger about their value to high-stakes U.S. military operations. In Drones, Missiles, and the U.S. Munitions Shortage: The Role of Affordable Mass in a Taiwan Conflict, authors Philip Sheers and Stacie Pettyjohn examine the role of “affordable mass” in a full-scale invasion of Taiwan, a scenario in which the United States could be required to strike more than 2,000 targets. Exquisite munitions stockpiles must be replenished, they argue, but supplementing these capabilities with lower-cost weapons will help reverse the U.S. inventory disadvantage and block China from achieving its operational objectives.
Report | Stuck in the Cul-de-Sac: How U.S. Defense Spending Prioritizes Innovation over Deterrence
Disproportionate investments in long-term developmental programs have left the Pentagon less able to meet the need for near-term deterrence. As China’s military buildup accelerates, the need to balance these two time horizons is becoming increasingly critical. In Stuck in the Cul-de-Sac: How U.S. Defense Spending Prioritizes Innovation over Deterrence, authors Carlton Haelig and Philip Sheers analyze the pitfalls of the fiscal year 2026 defense budget, laying out how the United States can avoid a costly mistake by closing near-term capability gaps while sustaining modernization plans.
Pages
The New American Defense Industrial Base
The U.S. defense industrial base (DIB) has seen significant change over the course of the past decade, with new entrants and forms of financing changing how the Department of ...
Reports
Drones, Missiles, and the U.S. Munitions Shortage
Executive Summary Drones have exploded in popularity since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. There is a growing view that inexpensive drones—“affordable mass”—a...
Reports
Stuck in the Cul-de-Sac
For more than a decade, the United States has sought to modernize its military to deter China, but it has become stuck in a developmental cul-de-sac that has allowed China to ...
Commentary:
Analysis from Stacie Pettyjohn, Philip Sheers, and Carlton Haelig
CNAS Insights
CNAS Insights | Can the United States Sustain Its War Against Iran?
Last week, the Trump administration hosted U.S. defense companies at the White House for a discussion on defense production. At the center of ongoing operations are questions ...
CNAS Insights
CNAS Insights | Budgetary Own Goals Undermine “Speed and Volume”
On November 7, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth laid out a plan to overhaul the Department of Defense’s (DOD’s) acquisition system. Placing an emphasis on delivering new capa...
Commentary
Iran Shows the Emerging Crisis of the U.S. Airborne Battle Management Fleet
The ABM force structure crisis comes at an acute moment for US air operations....
In the News:
Insights from Stacie Pettyjohn and Becca Wasser
In The News
The U.S. Army Is Fast-Tracking New Weapons as Trump Denies Shortages
Stacie Pettyjohn, a senior fellow and director of the Defense Program at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), tells TIME that the DoD is more concerned with testing ...
In The News
There’s No Shortcut to Replenish U.S. Munitions Stockpiles
“The push for low-cost munitions is unlikely to have a material effect on the Iran War—at least not anytime soon,” said Becca Wasser, Bloomberg Economics’s defense lead and an...
In The News
The U.S. Start-Up Making Low-Cost Interceptors for the Iran War
“They are complements, not substitutes, for the PAC-3,” said Stacie Pettyjohn, a senior fellow and director of the defense program at the Center for a New American Security. S...
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Munitions Procurement and the Fiscal Year 2027 Defense Budget
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