In early 2022, the Defense Department released a report detailing the state of the defense industrial base, or DIB, which is the collection of private sector companies that produce the materials, hardware and weapons used by the U.S. military.
It was no surprise the report concluded that the DIB had dramatically downsized from where it had been decades earlier. As an example, 90% of missiles now come from just three sources, the report says.
That consolidation, along with other issues related to the DIB, continue to pose a challenge to DOD, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Navy Adm. Christopher W. Grady said today while speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. Either the industrial base will need to change, he said, or the Defense Department will need to adapt.