We need more domestic defense manufacturing

OPINION:

In 2021, seemingly overnight, images of cargo ships backed up for miles at the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles catapulted the term “supply chain” from an arcane logistics issue to water cooler conversation.

The topic may have dropped from the public’s interest, but our fragile supply chain still poses intensifying challenges for America’s economy and security. The ever-present potential for disruption affects not only products and materials coming from abroad but domestic sources as well.

The cargo ship logjam wasn’t unexpected, nor is it the only supply chain weakness. A decade ago, the Federal Maritime Commission predicted that “congestion at ports and other points in the nation’s intermodal system has become a serious risk factor.”

The supply system truly depends on a chain, which is only as strong as its most vulnerable link. Although ports have mostly recovered, a concern today is the trucking industry, which is squeezed by higher costs and fewer drivers.

When the system breaks down for defense manufacturers, the consequences are more than inconvenience. The very security of the country is put at risk. At a minimum, interruptions delay schedules and raise costs. That is exactly the challenge facing defense manufacturers.

The impact of supply chain failures on national security was highlighted in a recent General Accounting Office report on delays in production of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. The jet, said GAO, “plays a crucial role in national security for the U.S. and its partners and allies. The aircraft’s unique stealth technology and advanced sensor networking systems provide critical capabilities to DOD’s tactical air portfolio.”

The GAO is right to sound the alarm. Modern military jet engines can have as many as 45,000 individual components. Just one breakdown by a supplier or a broken link in the supply chain, and production timelines are out the window. That is the status of the F-35.

Investing in improving every aspect of the supply chain is important, including the need to strengthen the capacity of domestic defense manufacturing. Reducing dependence on foreign suppliers is essential to U.S. security at home and protecting the country’s interests abroad. Doing so will require smart, strategic investments. The answer isn’t as simple as building a shiny, new, one-size-fits-all defense plant in America.

COVID-19 exposed the threats to U.S. military readiness that have been building since 2000 as more manufacturing moved overseas, new regulations stifled innovation and efficiency, and the skilled workforce dwindled. The pandemic emergency made a bad situation worse, and the U.S. defense industry, like other manufacturing sectors, has yet to fully recover from the disruptions.

The problems go beyond container ships backed up in ports. To cite just one example, a 2023 Deloitte study estimates that the number of U.S. foundries has declined by two-thirds since 2000, making castings and forging capacity one of the most urgent vulnerabilities posing immediate national security risks.

As the number of domestic foundries has shrunk, the remaining ones have become more dependent on high-volume production to stay competitive in the global market. That does not align well with defense manufacturing, a business of highly specialized, low-volume cast and forged components.

The solution in this case is innovation, creating a new generation of additive manufacturing. Where traditional manufacturing creates a product by removing and reshaping materials, additive manufacturing, such as 3D printing, produces components by adding layers. That, of course, is easier said than done.

As Deloitte points out, new printing technologies and the highly skilled personnel to operate them are needed. Transferring ideas and knowledge gained in a lab to the shop floor is complicated and often requires expensive trial and error. Reducing the high cost of failure will require incentives to promote information-sharing so that every small foundry isn’t forced to reinvent the wheel.

Thinking differently about casting and forging is just one example of the need for a robust private-public partnership to assure that vital defense materiel is delivered on time and on budget. The future of a strong domestic defense manufacturing sector depends on a multitiered approach: good public policy, substantial investment in the recruitment and training of qualified workers, research and development of new technologies, building new manufacturing facilities and strengthening supply chain infrastructure. All go hand in hand.

A new era of domestic defense manufacturing will be a catalyst for a golden age of U.S. manufacturing in other sectors, creating well-paying jobs in clean, taxpaying facilities.

Most important, it will assure the security of the United States and our allies in an increasingly tumultuous world. What could be more urgent?

• Tom Horner is a public affairs executive and was a 2010 candidate for governor of Minnesota. Previously, he served as chief of staff to U.S. Sen. Dave Durenberger, Minnesota Republican, during the senator’s time as chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.