DoD sees progress in DIB goals over last year

Bolstering solid rocket motor production has been an important DoD goal. In August 2025, Anduril RMS opened its full-rate production solid rocket motor facility in McHenry, Mississippi (shown above). (Anduril Industries)

The US defence industrial base (DIB) has come under scrutiny since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Revitalising the DIB has become an important policy goal for the Trump administration.

“The urgency of the moment is real,” Michael Cadenazzi, assistant secretary of defence for industrial base policy, told an audience at the Hudson Institute in Washington, DC, on 10 February, pointing to the need for a robust DIB to meet US and allied weapons requirements.

Achievements

Cadenazzi provided an overview of his office's achievements over the last year. These included securing “almost USD65 billion of contracts” for more than 26,000 clients through 96 APEX Accelerators, which help small businesses connect to the government.

The department also launched the LYNX digital platform, “which is part of our approach for providing a comprehensive suite of [information technology] tools to help with cyber security, growth, and other requirements for small businesses”, he said.

Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment (IBAS) programmes “invested nearly USD2 billion last year to bolster supply chain resiliency” in areas such as critical minerals and solid rocket motor production, Cadenazzi said, highlighting a USD100 million investment in rocket motor nozzles in September 2025.

Workforce is another focus, with “more than 800,000 defence manufacturing jobs that are open today, and that's in advance of some projected 4 million over the next decade”, he said, pointing to 40 workforce development programmes operating across the US.