The Lawfare Podcast Lawfare Daily: America's Defense Industrial Base
Dec 2, 2025
Seth Jones, President of the Defense and Security Department at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, dives deep into America’s defense industrial base. He discusses the differences between industry giants like Lockheed and smaller firms like General Atomics. Seth also explores China’s wartime production strategies and the challenges of U.S. consolidation, particularly the impact on competition. He highlights the vital role of private sector innovations in conflict and warns about the risks of commercial interests influencing national security.
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Defense Industrial Base Is An Ecosystem
- The defense industrial base is an ecosystem spanning multiple government agencies, Congress, and private industry involved in R&D, production, and export.
- Seth Jones frames it broadly to include non-DoD actors like State and Commerce that shape defense capabilities.
The "Last Supper" That Reshaped Industry
- In 1993 DoD hosted CEOs and showed charts urging consolidation from many firms into a few winners across categories.
- Norm Augustine called that meeting "The Last Supper," and the defense industry consolidated dramatically afterward.
Consolidation Cut Competition And Capacity
- Consolidation created a handful of very large primes like Lockheed and Northrop Grumman after post‑Cold War cuts.
- Seth Jones warns the result reduced competition, raised prices, and narrowed supplier diversity in shipbuilding and other sectors.
