The 2023 National Defense Industrial Strategy
The 2023 National Defense Industrial Strategy (NDIS) focuses on securing the United States' defense industrial base by addressing key areas like resilient supply chains, workforce readiness, flexible acquisition, and economic deterrence.
1. Resilient Supply Chains:
- Incentivize Industry to build spare production capacity through public-private partnerships, legislation, and risk-sharing mechanisms.
- Manage Inventory and Stockpile Planning to mitigate near-term risks, expand stockpiles of strategic systems, and ensure working group effectiveness.
- Expand Support for Domestic Production by promoting innovation programs and deploying funding mechanisms to revitalize the Organic Industrial Base (OIB).
- Diversify Supplier Base and Invest in New Production Methods to include non-traditional DIB entities and mitigate entry costs into the defense industrial ecosystem.
- Improve Sub-Tier Visibility with data analytics to identify and minimize supply chain risks proactively.
- Engage Allies and Partners to boost global defense production and resilience and enhance the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) process.
- Enhance Industrial Cybersecurity by improving current regulations, policies, and programs.
2. Workforce Readiness:
- Prepare Workforce for Future Technological Innovation through upskilling and reskilling programs and developing advanced manufacturing workforce pipelines.
- Target Defense-Critical Skill Sets in manufacturing and STEM and increase access to apprenticeships and internship programs.
- Destigmatize Industrial Careers and expand recruitment of non-traditional communities to broaden the workforce.
3. Flexible Acquisition:
- Broaden Platform Standards and Interoperability, strengthen the requirements process, and prioritize off-the-shelf acquisition.
- Increase Access to IP and Data Rights, consider greater use of contracting strategies, and support acquisition reform.
- Update Industrial Mobilization Authorities to ensure preparedness for future challenges.
4. Economic Deterrence:
- Strengthen Economic Security Agreements and enable international interoperability standards.
- Fortify Alliances to share science and technology, protect against cyber-attacks, and strengthen prohibited sources policies.
The NDIS emphasizes the need for a collaborative approach, engaging various stakeholders from government agencies to international allies, to build a robust, modernized, and dynamic defense industrial ecosystem. The strategy acknowledges the challenges and asserts the commitment to innovate and adapt to ensure the United States' military strength and national security.
