A. There are four main periods that have helped to define the evolution of the Defense Industrial Base since 1950. These are the formative period from 1950-1960, the maturation period of 1960-1990, the restructuring period 1990-2007, and the modern period from 2007-present. Each period saw a different approach by the Defense Industrial Base. The formative period saw any company that could get involved heavily in the defense industry. As the industry began to age, numerous companies got out either partially or entirely in order to diversify their assets or move away from what some companies viewed as a volatile industry. The restructuring period saw downsizing and shrinkage of the industry into a few large firms. Finally, the modern period
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In addition, the nation began to invest more heavily in research and development and procurement to outfit this newly formed force. With this pivot towards a new and improved American military, department of defense spending began to rise. Based upon the value of the defense industry, the period of 1950-1960 had a growth rate that would not be matched until 1998-2007 during the period of restructuring. This can be largely attributed to the development of new technologies, effectively reinventing the way our armed forces fought. The government continued its pre-World War II practice of migrating more towards commercial suppliers for defense related products. This ultimately resulted in the defense industry becoming one of the leading sectors of the nation’s economy during the 1950s. The barriers to entry and exit within this sector grew as the industry moved from its formative period into maturation. The number of companies focused solely on defense drastically shrunk, and the year 1960 began the “maturation period” of the defense industrial …show more content…
This completely altered the United States defense strategy. It has proven to be a difficult, complex process whose outcome continues to be in doubt. With a rapidly changing battlefield environment, the Defense Industrial Base was forced to completely shift an abundance of its products in order to better suit a more modern military that was capable of operating in any situation regardless of terrain or geographical location. Somalia, Afghanistan, and Iraq were very different from Vietnam, Korea, and the European battlefields of the past. Despite this shift in terrain, the government’s acquisition practices remained largely unaltered from those established decades earlier and further acerbate by the end of the Cold War. These practices included altering program funding from one year to next; awarding and evaluating programs largely based on costs; creating very large programs that would continue for decades, thereby reserving the revenues to the incumbent firms; making changes in requirements after development — or even production — had begun; and maintaining intricate oversight and control of defense firms’ daily activities. Defense companies remained skeptical during this period that the acquisition process was likely to ever evolve into a more desirable, private sector-like arena. Downsizing of the industry continued, and with the election of Bill Clinton, the industrial base saw intense shrinkage. The
In addition, the nation began to invest more heavily in research and development and procurement to outfit this newly formed force. With this pivot towards a new and improved American military, department of defense spending began to rise. Based upon the value of the defense industry, the period of 1950-1960 had a growth rate that would not be matched until 1998-2007 during the period of restructuring. This can be largely attributed to the development of new technologies, effectively reinventing the way our armed forces fought. The government continued its pre-World War II practice of migrating more towards commercial suppliers for defense related products. This ultimately resulted in the defense industry becoming one of the leading sectors of the nation’s economy during the 1950s. The barriers to entry and exit within this sector grew as the industry moved from its formative period into maturation. The number of companies focused solely on defense drastically shrunk, and the year 1960 began the “maturation period” of the defense industrial …show more content…
This completely altered the United States defense strategy. It has proven to be a difficult, complex process whose outcome continues to be in doubt. With a rapidly changing battlefield environment, the Defense Industrial Base was forced to completely shift an abundance of its products in order to better suit a more modern military that was capable of operating in any situation regardless of terrain or geographical location. Somalia, Afghanistan, and Iraq were very different from Vietnam, Korea, and the European battlefields of the past. Despite this shift in terrain, the government’s acquisition practices remained largely unaltered from those established decades earlier and further acerbate by the end of the Cold War. These practices included altering program funding from one year to next; awarding and evaluating programs largely based on costs; creating very large programs that would continue for decades, thereby reserving the revenues to the incumbent firms; making changes in requirements after development — or even production — had begun; and maintaining intricate oversight and control of defense firms’ daily activities. Defense companies remained skeptical during this period that the acquisition process was likely to ever evolve into a more desirable, private sector-like arena. Downsizing of the industry continued, and with the election of Bill Clinton, the industrial base saw intense shrinkage. The