The Defense Department will publish a new national strategy for the defense industrial base (DIB) to help guide policies and investments in the next three to five years, one of a number of efforts being taking by the White House to strengthen the nation’s supply chains.
The National Defense Industrial Strategy “will ensure a coordinated, whole-of-government approach to and focus on the multiple layers of suppliers and sub-suppliers that make up these critical supply chains,” a Nov. 27 White House fact sheet says.
DoD is also crating a Supply Chain Mapping Tool that will analyze supplier data for 110 weapons systems, the White House said. The tool “will be used to develop defense industrial base wargaming scenarios to identify vulnerabilities and develop mitigation strategies,” the fact sheet says.
The White House on Monday for the first time convened its new Council on Supply Chain Resilience, which is charged with spearheading the federal government’s strategy to strengthen supply chains. The council is co-chaired by the national security adviser and the national economic adviser, and includes the heads of 13 departments, including DoD and the Department of Homeland Security, and other agencies such as the director of national intelligence.
DoD’s actions build on $714 million in Defense Production Act investments the department has made this year to strengthen supply chains critical to the DIB. The department on Monday announced a new investment to support the supply chain for advanced thermoplastic composite structures.
Qarbon Aerospace received $3.7million for the design and manufacture of the lightweight composites that are used in military aviation applications that require icing protections. The award was made through the Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment program that is managed by the DoD Industrial Base Policy office.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency will also begin a hackathon in early 2024 to engage public and private stakeholders for the development of new artificial intelligence-based supply chain risk modeling approaches to assess domestic critical mineral resources.
The Department of Homeland Security is also launching a new Supply Chain Resilience Center (SCRC) that will focus on supply chains for critical infrastructures. Supply chain risks from threats to, and vulnerabilities inside, U.S. ports are an initial priority for the SCRC.
The SCRC next year will also work with the Commerce Department and private sector to help secure the semiconductor supply chain, and host two table-top exercises with other agencies, foreign governments, and industry partners to test the resiliency of cross-border supply chains.