AIA Recommends Strategy concerning defense industrial base.
Press Release Summary:
Testifying before House Armed Services Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces on state of defense industrial base, AIA's Marion C. Blakey called for "smart choices" when addressing budget caps contributing to "a very challenging future." Blakey advocated for adoption of industrial base strategy that would "mitigate looming investment deficits and sustain the U.S. defense industrial base." She mentioned identifying and protecting "core, military-unique private sector capabilities."
Original Press Release:
AIA Recommends Defense Industrial Base Strategy
Excerpt from Testimony provided today by Aerospace Industries Association President and CEO Marion C. Blakey before the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces on the state of the defense industrial base and challenges it faces.
Arlington, Va. — No doubt about it, we’re facing a very challenging future. As Secretary Hagel has recently stated, under the existing budget caps we have a fundamental choice between either a much smaller military that is more technologically advanced as a result of minimizing cuts to modernization programs; or retaining the military at nearly its current size but creating and deploying little or no new capabilities. We agree with Secretary Hagel that we must be able to counter and surpass the technological advances of our potential adversaries.
When it comes to our country’s vital national security interests we must make smart choices. As this Congress and the Administration consider future defense planning, we advocate that our leaders adopt an industrial base strategy to mitigate looming investment deficits and sustain the U.S. defense industrial base. We should identify and protect core, military-unique private sector capabilities that are most needed to defend our homeland and build security globally.
We strongly urge the executive and legislative branches to take sensible, long-term, measures to mitigate the current harm underinvestment is doing to our military and the industrial base that equips it. Failing to do so would undercut our role as a reliable and responsive provider of urgent wartime needs and as an indispensable asset to America’s security.
CONTACT:Â Dan Stohr
(703) 358-1078 office
(703) 517-8173 mobile
dan.stohr@aia-aerospace.org
-AIA-
Founded in 1919 shortly after the birth of flight, the Aerospace Industries Association is the most authoritative and influential trade association representing the nation’s leading manufacturers and suppliers of civil, military and business aircraft, helicopters, unmanned aircraft systems, space systems, aircraft engines, homeland and cybersecurity systems, materiel and related components, equipment services and information technology.
