Sharper: Revitalizing the Defense Industrial Base

The U.S. defense industrial base is at a critical inflection point. The war in Ukraine and the need to prepare for potential future conflicts exposed critical shortfalls in the pace, capacity, and resilience of American defense production. After decades of consolidation, inconsistent demand signals, and budgetary dysfunction, America’s defense industrial base is unable to meet the demands of modern warfare. CNAS experts are sharpening the conversation on how the United States can revitalize its defense industrial base and restore America’s arsenal of democracy. Continue reading this edition of Sharper to explore their analysis, commentary, and recommendations—and read the first three entries in a new series on America’s industrial base.

Features

Commentary Series | The New American Defense Industrial Base

The CNAS Defense Program recently launched a new essay series on modernizing and revitalizing America’s defense industrial base to prepare the United States for potential future threats in a period of broad geopolitical instability. The essays will be released regularly throughout 2026, written by experts in policy, the defense industry, venture capital, and new entrants into the defense sector. Read the introductory essay from Susanna Blume, a special Valentine’s Day commentary on how start-ups and primes can develop healthy relationships, and the latest entry from former Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall.

Report | Stuck in the Cul-de-Sac

A critical element in reforming the defense industrial base is fixing a broken defense budget process. In a report from Carlton Haelig and Philip Sheers, the authors find that the budgets have disproportionately invested in long-term developmental programs at the expense of producing necessary near-term capabilities. Righting this balance will be vital to ensure the United States can rapidly produce the assets it needs to maintain deterrence in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.

Report | From Production Lines to Front Lines

In a wide-ranging analysis of the U.S. industrial base, Becca Wasser and Philip Sheers demonstrate how the U.S. industrial base is incapable of meeting present threats at the speed and scale required. The report recommends a series of interventions that the Department of Defense, Congress, and industry can make to build industrial capacity, ensure consistent demand signals, embrace new manufacturing approaches, and encourage competition in order to prepare the industrial base to counter future challenges. Absent rapid intervention, the report warns that the United States may be left unprepared in times of crisis.

Commentary

Analysis from Stacie Pettyjohn, Carlton Haelig, Philip Sheers, and Sara Moller

In the News

Insights from Carlton Haelig, Becca Wasser, Franz-Stefan Gady, and Tom Shugart