DOD Integrates Its Industrial Base With Allies, Partners

The strength of the Defense Department and international security lies with defense industrial base cooperation with allies, partners, industry and academia, said Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Navy Adm. Christopher W. Grady.

Speaking today at a National Defense Industrial Association event on emerging technologies, Grady said there's just one defense industrial base, and that's the international defense industrial base.

The admiral provided an example of how that works.

After Russia's illegal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, some 50 allies and partners have been meeting regularly to supply defensive arms to Kyiv, he said. Each partner nation has something to bring to the table.

For example, Grady said Latvia is good at manufacturing drones.

Also, a combined joint requirements oversight council has been established with international partner nations to better utilize each of their industrial strengths, he said.

Regarding DOD's industrial base, the admiral said speed matters when it comes to critical technology development and rollout. The Defense Innovation Unit and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency really shine in compressing timelines, he said, adding that timeline compression should be a priority elsewhere in the department, as well.

Transparency regarding the requirements would also be helpful, particularly for small businesses and startups because they don't have a lot of experience navigating the bureaucracy, he said.

Grady also discussed talent management, saying there should be an easier way to recruit cyber talent. He said one way might be to make the workplace more relaxed for talented young people, while another would be to create a pathway for talented industry professionals to work for the department for a time and then return to industry to cross-pollinate their knowledge and experience.

The admiral said the U.S. is a superpower, not just on the strength of its weapons and talented workforce; it's also dominant because of things that have less public visibility, like outstanding testing facilities and methods, infrastructure, training, ranges, recruiting, management and other items.