Industrial Capabilities for Defense.
Abstract
Throughout the post-World War II era, the United States has relied for its security upon a unique industrial base. In each conflict, soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines had the advantage of the most capable weaponry, supplied by unrivaled technological research and industrial production. Our effons in this period brought us victory in the Cold War. That victory has wrought changes in the size, mission, and resources of the armed forces. Today we face no superpower rival. The tasks for which we prepare involve not global war, but smaller conflicts, carried out in varied terrain, often in cooperation with the armed forces of other nations. As a result, the Department of Defense (DoD) will procure less weaponry. Nonetheless, the equipment we do buy must do more: it must maintain our technological edge while meeting new requirements and permitting interoperability with allies. Since the peak year in 1985, defense procurement decreased 66 percent in real terms. By comparison, in the nine-year period from the Vietnam-era procurement peak in 1967, the procurement budget dropped in real terms by 48 percent. Defense suppliers have responded to these cuts in predictable ways. Factories have been restructured, reduced, or closed. Skilled personnel have been laid off. Some firms have merged or restructured; others have abandoned defense production entirely, and still others threaten to follow that course.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 1994
- Accession Number
- ADA303990
Entities
Organizations
- United States Department of Defense