The U.S. Defense Industrial Base

There are both pros and cons to be found in the proposals for sustaining the U.S. defense industrial base during the defense drawdown. The main alternative to these proposals is to increase reliance on foreign companies for the production of weapons and parts. This paper will show that the advantages of sustaining the U.S. defense industrial base far outweigh the disadvantages. The defense drawdown is occurring because recent changes in global threats have resulted in an overall reduction of the U.S. defense budget. Nevertheless, many regions of the world continue to be unstable despite these recent changes. As a result, the United States military must be prepared to maintain at least a minimum capability for responding to international crises.

Several arguments have been advanced for not sustaining the U.S. defense industrial base and for thus relying more on foreign markets. The main argument is that the use of international markets for weapons production increases competition, which in turn lowers costs and increases overall quality. Proponents of using foreign manufacturers also claim that today's weapons systems are so complex that they need a wider production base than that which is made available by domestic markets alone. It is also often noted that the U.S. defense industry has recently suffered from set-backs which have forced many companies to go out of business. As a result of this situation, U.S. companies are less capable of meeting the nation's needs

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