The Quadrennial Defense Review acknowledged that DOD hasn’t done a good job setting an industrial policy, Deputy Defense Secretary William Lynn said April 15. Speaking at an Aerospace Industries Association Capitol Hill event, Lynn said industrial policy chief Brett Lambert would spearhead an “industry by industry, sector-by-sector review of our industrial base.” The review, said Lynn, would help DOD determine, for instance, if it should provide “some extra funding” for a “design team here” or establish a competition there “to ensure we have the appropriate level of competition to get the taxpayer the best product at the best process.” He added that DOD expects the analysis “to inform all of our industrial base decisions.” The Pentagon has no desire to tell industry whether to consolidate or restructure, he added, but understands that some “unique” capabilities could disappear if not sustained with a program, Lynn said.
RTX’s Raytheon unit was able to “significantly” extend the range of the AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile using mostly software changes in experimental tests last year, expanding the reach and lethality of the standard U.S. dogfighting weapon, company officials said Sept. 15.
