Arming the Revolution in Military Affairs: The US Defense Industry in the Post-transformational World

摘要

The transformation of the U.S. armed forces was initially promoted as nothing less than a fundamental shift in the way wars would be fought in the future and has often been referred to as a 'revolution in military affairs.' Such far-reaching and ambitious aims naturally implied significant changes for the U.S. defense industrial base; such potential changes, in turn, naturally catalyzed many questions. In particular, would new requirements for network- centric warfare undermine the long-standing predominance of the U.S. military's traditional suppliers and, thereby, shift defense work in favor of a new cadre of firms, particularly those drawn from the commercial information technology (IT) sector. Would specialized 'boutique firms' and foreign suppliers find a stronger niche in the transformed U.S. defense industrial environment. Given that unfolding U.S. defense transformation efforts resemble more a process of sustainment rather than disruptive innovation and change, the impact on the defense industry has been slight. Large, traditionally defense-oriented firms continue to dominate U.S. defense contracting. Interestingly, commercial IT firms are not becoming directly involved in defense work, tending instead to act mainly as subcontractors to traditional defense companies. As the U.S. defense contracting business remains largely unchanged, the role of foreign firms in this process will also remain limited, and overseas defense companies will continue to find it a challenge to penetrate the U.S. defense market.