The President’s Inbox Are We Ready? | America’s Crumbling Defense Industrial Base, With Kathleen Hicks
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Dec 17, 2025 
Kathleen Hicks, former U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense and currently a senior fellow at Harvard and Johns Hopkins, discusses the challenges within America’s defense industrial base. She highlights the shift from government-led efforts to commercial R&D and the rising influence of tech firms. Hicks addresses critical workforce shortages, the fragility of supply chains, and the implications of military readiness in a competitive global landscape. The conversation also explores innovative approaches to munitions production and the necessity of adapting to modern warfare dynamics.
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Defense Industrial Base Is Bigger Than Primes
- The defense industrial base spans commercial tech, prime contractors, and government-owned facilities and reflects the broader industrial base.
- R&D has shifted from DOD-led to commercial-led, reversing a historical 70-30 balance.
Design Strength But Production Weakness
- The U.S. still leads in design and capability but struggles on timely, cost-effective production.
- Workforce shortages and fragile supply chains are central constraints exposed by Ukraine and COVID.
From Peace Dividend To Production Gaps
- Major procurement and supply problems trace to long-term policy choices like post-Cold War drawdowns and globalized supply chains.
- Hicks notes supplemental Ukraine funding helped expand U.S. 155mm artillery production capacities.