Today, technology development and production are globally dispersed. As a result, the U.S. defense industrial base has undergone a sea change in its composition, becoming increasingly reliant on international sources for its development, production, and provision, particularly at the subsystems and parts levels. Non-U.S. firms are major players within the U.S. defense industrial base, often with major engineering and production subsidiaries in the United States. Both U.S.and non-U.S. defense firms have rapidly and dramatically increased their reliance on foreign suppliers, especially for the acquisition of commodities, circuit boards, semi-conductors, and other electronic parts and components. In fact, virtually all U.S weapons systems manufactured today contain foreign parts. This arrangement has allowed the United States to acquire superior systems, reduce costs, increase the number of units produced, and improve deployment times(Moran, 1990). But it has also heightened supply chain vulnerability.
School Authors: William Lucyshyn