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Fairfax, Va., October 3, 2024 – The Greg and Camille Baroni Center for Government Contracting in George Mason University’s Costello College of Business today issued a new report that lays out a strategy to mobilize the defense industrial base and ensure the United States is prepared to act when the next major military conflagration occurs.
The report entitled, Before the Balloon Goes Up: Mobilizing the Defense Industrial Base now to Prepare for Future Conflict, makes clear that the United States today is not prepared for future national security conflicts.
“The defense industrial base is simply not ready for protracted conflict,” said Jerry McGinn, Executive Director of the Baroni Center. “We do not have the capacity to equip and sustain our forces in the event of a major conflict in the Taiwan Strait or elsewhere. That’s why it is so imperative that government and industry leaders learn from past crises to create and implement a new national strategy to mobilize the defense industrial base and prepare now for future conflict.”
Through four case studies analyzing national security responses from World War II to the War in Ukraine, GMU researchers have identified seven elements of mobilization and provided actionable recommendations that government and industry leaders can act on now to ready the defense industrial base.
Four Case Studies
The report examined these four national security crises in American history to understand how the United States has previously mobilized its industrial base:
- The United States’ systemic efforts to build and deploy the equipment necessary to win World War II (1938-1945)
- The creation of Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected (MRAP) vehicles in response to improvised explosive devices (IEDs) during operations in Afghanistan and Iraq (2006-2013)
- The United States’ COVID-19 response and the strains on our supply chains as well as the industrial base’s ability to produce vaccines and personal protective equipment rapidly and at scale (2020-2021)
- The long-lead items, obsolete parts, systems no longer in production, and other serious concerns revealed during the United States’ efforts to provide Ukraine with the assistance and equipment it needs to defend itself against attacks from Russian aggression (2022-present)
National Mobilization Strategy
The findings from the case studies enabled researchers to identify seven elements of mobilization that, when taken together, form a national strategy to rapidly and effectively mobilize the defense industrial base to meet the moment and address the urgent national security threats facing our nation.
National Leadership to Build Public Support for Mobilization
Gaining and maintaining public support is vital for mobilization efforts. That’s why the report recommends that our leaders build public trust and educate Americans about why mobilization efforts are necessary. This should include laying out the rationale for mobilization and making clear the benefits to our nation.
Increasing Resources Available
To meet our national security threats, the United States should increase defense funding levels to approach Cold War defense spending levels of 6 to 7% of U.S. gross domestic product. Public private partnerships and industrial base financing are additional options to bring to bear the strength of our capital markets given the competing priorities for government funding. To facilitate more effective execution of available resources, DoD and Congress should implement the recommendations of the Congressional Commission on Planning, Programming, Budgeting & Execution Process (PPBE) reform.
Maximize Manufacturing Capacity through a True Build Allied Approach
The United States cannot build everything so it is important for our nation to harness and leverage the capacity of our allies and partners to supplement production capacity. Therefore, the report recommends developing a true “Build Allied” approach. This should include establishing a Senate-confirmed DoD leader to bolster global coordination with allies and partners and ensuring that technology transfer regimes facilitate increased international industrial collaboration.
Enhancing Legal Authorities
The government’s ability to mobilize the industrial base starts with the legal authorities and the agency plans and policies to facilitate production, reduce bottlenecks in the supply chain, and otherwise streamline how government and industry can develop the capabilities and capacities to meet the needs of the country in a crisis. To strengthen the industrial base, the Defense Production Act (DPA) should “strictly focus on national security needs,” and the Administration should establish a modern-day War Production Board through DPA’s National Defense Executive Reserve authority that would enable robust government-industry collaboration.
Designing for Producibility and Streamlining Equipment Production
The design and development of the specific types and models of ships, tanks, airplanes, weapons, unmanned systems, and other capabilities used in war have a direct effect on the United States’ ability to win conflicts. The report recommends that service acquisition officials focus on designing systems for producibility and urges the DoD to dramatically simplify requirements processes to streamline equipment production.
Acquisition Reform to Expand and Scale Production
The United States’ current approach to acquiring most munitions and major defense systems has prioritized efficiency and cost savings over production. The inability to rapidly expand and scale production significantly hampers the capacity of the defense industrial base. To modernize acquisition and contracting practices, the report recommends that the United States:
- Continue to prioritize open systems approaches
- Prioritize production. Effective mobilization requires systems designed for and developed with a principal focus on producibility and scalability.
- Maximize the use of unmanned and other low-cost (attritable) systems
- Contract for speed and surge
- Pursue second sourcing where possible
Grow Sustainment Capacity
During conflicts, the defense industrial base is responsible for delivering, sustaining, and replacing systems to support U.S. forces around the world. To strengthen the United State’s supply chains and capacity to replace systems during conflicts, the United States must:
- Grow overseas sustainment capacity
- Create a SBIR-like tax on programs to enable the second sourcing of parts to reduce supply chain bottlenecks
- Model surge requirements for future mobilization
“As we’ve seen before, the United States is successful when we mobilize effectively,” said McGinn. “Mobilization, however, takes time, and there is no time to waste. The time to act is now, before the balloon goes up.”
The report's full recommendations can be found here.
About the Greg and Camille Baroni Center for Government Contracting
The Greg and Camille Baroni Center for Government Contracting is the first-in-the-nation university center to address the business, policy, and regulatory issues in government contracting. Under the Costello College of Business at George Mason University, the Baroni Center is uniquely positioned to lead this effort by virtue of the composition of our faculty and students, as well as our geographic co-location with the federal government and many headquarters and major facilities of companies that make up the $700 billion government contracting industry. Activities to implement the Center's vision focus on three lines of effort: Research; Education and Training; and Collaboration. To learn more, visit https://business.gmu.edu/centers/center-government-contracting.
Media contact:
Matthew Bowen (matthew@vrge.us).