Defense industrial base

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A defense industrial base (DIB) is the network of organizations, facilities, and resources that provides a government with materials, products, and services for defense purposes, especially the supply of its military forces.[1][2] It may include both public and private actors, including some entities that may not exclusively engage in defense-related production, and is often defined in geographical or national terms.[1][2] It may also be divided according to the kinds of weapons and equipment produced.[1] As a concept, the DIB is closely related to the notion of the military–industrial complex, and is often discussed as a foundational element of national power.
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United States
The U.S. defense industrial base has attracted particular attention from policymakers, analysts, academics, and other commentators. Although the country has in some sense possessed a DIB since the Revolutionary War, the modern industrial base – in the form of a large, permanent network of defense-oriented industrial facilities, primarily owned and operated by private firms and maintained during peacetime – dates from the early Cold War.[1][3] After significant expansion between the late 1940s and the late 1980s, the U.S. DIB experienced a period of contraction and consolidation associated with the reduction of defense spending following the dissolution of the Soviet Union.[4][1] Since the early 2010s – and especially following Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine – the U.S. government has increased the resourcing of the DIB, and production output for the sector as a whole appears to have risen correspondingly.[1][5] Whether the DIB is appropriately sized, structured, and tasked is subject of considerable debate within the United States.[6][7]
See also
- Military–industrial complex
- Weapons manufacturing
- List of countries with highest military expenditures
References
- ^ a b c d e f Nicastro, Luke. The U.S. Defense Industrial Base: Background and Issues for Congress. Congressional Research Service. October 12, 2023.
- ^ a b Will, George (2025-08-15). "America's withered defense industrial base urgently needs ramping up". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2025-10-25.
- ^ "The Military Industry... It's Complex". NPR. February 2024.
- ^ Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment (February 2022). "State of Competition within the Defense Industrial Base" (PDF).
- ^ Allen, Gregory (August 20, 2024). "Why Is the U.S. Defense Industrial Base So Isolated from the U.S. Economy?". Center for Strategic and International Studies.
- ^ Jones, Seth G. "The U.S. Industrial Base Is Not Prepared for a Possible Conflict with China". features.csis.org. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
- ^ Lofgren, Mike (2024-06-23). "Why Can't America Build Enough Weapons?". Washington Monthly. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
Further reading
- Chollet, Derek; Sawyer, Lisa. 2025. "An Era of Global Rearmament and the U.S. Defense Industrial Base." JPMorganChase Center for Geopolitics. pp. 11–18.
- Austin, Mike. 1999. Managing the US Defense Industrial Base: A Strategic Imperative, Parameters, pp. 27–37.
- Boezer, Gordon; Gutmaris, Ivans; Muckerman II, Joseph E.: 1997. "The Defense Technology and Industrial Base: Key Component of National Power", Parameters, pp. 26–51.
- Abbott, Gerald; Johnson, Stuart. 1996. "The Changing Defense Industrial Base", Strategic Forum, No. 96.
- Gentsch, Eric L.; 1993. Peterson, Donna J. S.: "A Method for Industrial Base Analysis: An Aerospace Case Study", Bethesda, MD: Logistics Management Institute
- Markusen, Ann. 1999. "The Rise of World Weapons." Foreign Policy, No. 114, Spring, pp. 40–51
External links
- A description of the DIB by the United States Department of Homeland Security
- DIB Programs: Where industry and security intersect by the United States Department of Commerce