Weekly Wisdom | Our Defense Industrial Base
We Need To Build Now
The Iran War is exposing the harsh reality that America’s defense industrial base is dangerously underbuilt for 21st-century military conflict. After the end of World War II, the United States emerged as the dominant military, technological, and manufacturing superpower on Earth. Since the 1990s, however, America’s defense industrial base has consolidated into a small number of large corporations, reducing competition while contributing to higher costs and diminished production capacity for essential weapons and military equipment. It is imperative, therefore, that the United States rearm more rapidly and efficiently, especially considering the growing threat from China and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
More about the defense industrial base:
What is it? The defense industrial base is the network of domestic military manufacturers, suppliers, and contractors that create the weapons and other essential products needed by the U.S. military. Lockheed Martin and Boeing, for example, are two of America’s largest defense contractors and are integral to the nation’s defense industrial base.
Recent reporting from The Washington Post and Reuters indicates that American stockpiles of both long-range precision missiles and missile defense interceptors have fallen to unacceptably low levels. Considering the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and the possibility that China could invade Taiwan, our depleted missile inventory weakens our ability to deter our adversaries.
Fortunately, a new generation of entrepreneurs and investors is creating advanced technology companies that seek to modernize the defense industrial base while producing critical military technologies faster and at lower cost. Saronic, for example, recently raised $1.75 billion to rapidly expand the production of autonomous ships for the U.S. Navy. Or consider Hadrian, which uses AI-enabled robotics and advanced manufacturing to quickly produce critical components for the next generation of American nuclear submarines.
President Trump has been doing his part to strengthen our military and its industrial base. Executive Order 14265, issued in April 2025, aims to streamline defense procurement while reducing onerous or repetitive regulations. In addition, President Trump’s 2026 defense budget included tens of billions of dollars for additional missiles, ships, and military infrastructure necessary to increase the lethality and efficiency of the U.S. military.
Part of President Trump’s pledge to Make America Great Again includes rebuilding our military for a new generation of warfare and potential great-power conflicts. A strong military requires a productive and innovative defense ecosystem capable of rapidly producing advanced weapons at a reasonable cost. It’s a race against time to modernize America’s arsenal for the dangerous decades to come, because our future safety may well depend upon it!
