Defense Industry Strategy: Interim Implementation Report for the Year and Month

Key Chapter Title List

1. Introduction
2. Resilient Supply Chains
3. Workforce Readiness
4. Flexible Acquisition
5. Economic Deterrence
6. Next Steps

Document Overview

Since its release in January 2024, the U.S. Department of Defense's (DoD) first-ever National Defense Industrial Strategy (NDIS) is steadily transitioning from a strategic vision into concrete actions. The strategy focuses on the short-term, medium-term, and long-term risks facing the defense industrial base—risks partly triggered by international events such as the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The report details the implementation measures the DoD is advancing, in collaboration with cross-agency, industry, and international partners, around four strategic priorities, aiming to reduce national security risks through systematic investment and policy adjustments.

The report emphasizes that building a healthy and resilient defense industrial base requires correcting years of underinvestment. Between 2020 and 2023, the average annual funding for the Defense Production Act (DPA) increased from approximately $84 million during 2013-2019 to $774.5 million; combined FY2024 supplemental and base defense appropriations will inject $74.6 billion for defense industrial base investments, including submarine industrial modernization and weapons replenishment for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, while creating jobs and strengthening U.S. manufacturing resilience.

At the level of the four strategic priorities, the report lists several key action outcomes. In the area of resilient supply chains, the DoD has strengthened supply chain security and diversification through DPA funding supporting domestic production of critical minerals, expansion of munitions production capacity, and the release of a cybersecurity strategy, among other initiatives. Regarding workforce readiness, targeted efforts such as funding support, talent development programs, and university-industry partnerships address skill shortages in fields like submarine manufacturing, enhancing workforce diversity and professional capabilities.

In the flexible acquisition section, the DoD has established specialized cooperation mechanisms and promoted public-private partnerships to shorten the technology transition cycle from lab to production, while implementing multi-year procurement authorizations to improve the cost-effectiveness and scalability of defense platforms. In the economic deterrence domain, by expanding the definition of "domestic sources" under the Defense Production Act, building regional assurance frameworks, and deepening industrial cooperation with allies in the Indo-Pacific region, the DoD aims to establish rule-based market mechanisms and collaborative deterrence capabilities, while guarding against investment infiltration by adversarial entities near military facilities.

The report notes that the DoD has already launched multiple cross-departmental, cross-domain policy and program initiatives to support the FY2026 defense plan and continues to communicate with Congress, industry, and international partners. Moving forward, the DoD will focus on six urgent cross-cutting implementation initiatives to further advance the modernization of the defense industrial ecosystem, ultimately providing support to warfighters. Achieving this goal will depend on long-term, sustained investment and collaboration from all parties. The complete classified version of the implementation plan will be released later in the summer of 2024.