US industry maintains some 86 percent of America’s critical defense infrastructure. (The rest is government-owned.) To make certain defense companies secure that industrial base, as charged by President Bush, the Pentagon is conducting assessments to find where security needs beefing up, noted Paul McHale, DOD’s assistant secretary for homeland defense, in a speech Tuesday. That would be OK, except defense officials apparently are working from a list of key assets prepared before the end of the Cold War, and the industrial landscape has changed a bit. Good news for governors who may still be reeling from recent BRAC decisions: DOD plans to share its review of facilities by state with appropriate governors.
The rate of building B-21 bombers would speed up if the fiscal 2026 defense budget passes. But it remains unclear how much capacity would be added, and whether the Air Force would simply build the bombers faster, or buy more.