Democracy's Arsenal: Creating a Twenty-First-Century Defense Industry

449 Pages·2011·1.48 MB·English

by  Jacques S. Gansler

Democracy ’ s Arsenal

Democracy ’ s Arsenal
Creating a Twenty-First-Century Defense Industry
Jacques S. Gansler
The MIT Press
Cambridge, Massachusetts
London, England
© 2011 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or
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This book was set in Sabon by Toppan Best-set Premedia Limited. Printed and bound in the
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Gansler, Jacques S.
Democracy’s arsenal : creating a twenty-fi rst-century defense industry / Jacques S. Gansler.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-262-07299-1 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Defense industries— Technological innovations— United States. 2. Research, Industrial—
United States. 3. Military-industrial complex — United States. I. Title.
HD9743.U6G36 2011
338.4 '7 35500973 — dc22
2010036043
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To Leah, for her love and support

And to Gillian, Douglas, Christine, and their children: may they live in a secure and
peaceful future world.

Contents
List of Figures ix
List of Tables xi
Preface xiii
Acknowledgments xv
1 The Challenge 1
2 The Defense Industry in Perspective 9
3 National Security in the Twenty-First Century 79
4 Characteristics of the Defense Industry in the Early Twenty-First Century 129
5 The Workforce: Industry, Government, and University 235
6 The Criticality of Research and Development 253
7 Competition in Defense Acquisitions 281
8 The Defense-Industry Strategies of Other Nations 307
9 Transforming the U.S. National-Security Industry 339
Notes 359
Bibliography 403
About the Author 411
Index 413

List of Figures
2.1 Defense budgets, 1946 to 2006 10
2.2 The composition of the defense industrial base 16
2.3 The DoD budget as a percentage of gross domestic product 21
2.4 Rough comparisons: Defense spending as a percentage of gross domestic
product 22
2.5 Annual military personnel costs, 1945 to 2009 24
2.6 Defense investment: Procurement and research, development, test, and
evaluation 26
2.7 Defense-industry consolidation, 1986 to 2001 33
2.8 Defense appropriations, 2000 to 2007 47
2.9 Existing U.S. and European suppliers: Platform level 63
4.1 The president’ s budget projections vs. actual defense budgets, fi scal years 1980
to 2005 160
4.2 Defense budget cycle, 1950 to 2006 162
4.3 Spiral development of systems 164
4.4 Cost growth in major military and civilian projects 203
4.5 Average total cost per F-22 aircraft, 1991 to 2006 207
4.6 Procurement quantities of F-22s, 1986 to 2005 208
4.7 Average cost growth for three DoD programs 209
4.8 Portal-based architecture 231
4.9 Continuous improvement: Maintenance-cycle days for F-404 engine
repairs 232
5.1 Total defense-related employment 236
5.2 Time taken to fi ll the top 500 jobs in presidential administrations, 1961 to
2009 239
5.3 DoD acquisition workforce declined as procurement budgets increased 240
5.4 Undergraduate degrees in natural science and engineering in fi ve countries,
2004 248
6.1 Research and development expenditures, 1947 to 2006 (adjusted for
infl ation) 254