On July 8, Forward Defense Senior Advisor Stephen Rodriguez was interviewed for an article in Government Matters titled “Sole-sourcing spare parts hinders military readiness, says national security expert.” In the piece, Rodriguez discusses the military’s space parts supply chain, its “crisis in readiness” due to single-supplier delivery of goods, and the need to revitalize discussion around defense innovation.
This is really an issue of competition, whether it’s with China, or Russia, or pick your existential boogeyman. Our simple argument is, look: we can talk about strategy, we can talk about numbers of ship or plane buys, but you don’t get to compete with anyone if you don’t have spare parts.
Forward Defense, housed within the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, generates ideas and connects stakeholders in the defense ecosystem to promote an enduring military advantage for the United States, its allies, and partners. Our work identifies the defense strategies, capabilities, and resources the United States needs to deter and, if necessary, prevail in future conflict.