A National Defense Industrial Association report says the readiness and health of the defense industrial base received an “unsatisfactory” score of 69 as the industry struggles to address the ongoing challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The demand for defense goods and services and industry competition for defense contracts were cited as areas of confidence in the Vital Signs 2022 report that was produced in partnership with data analytics firm Govini, NDIA said in the executive summary.
The demand for defense products and services scored 94 out of 100 for 2021, driven by the 8 percent increase in the Department of Defense’s contract obligations.
Competition in the defense industrial base earned a score of 88 due to low level of market concentration for total contract awards, high level of capital expenditures and low share of contract awards secured by foreign contractors.
One of the areas of concern cited in the report is industrial security, which received a failing score of 50 as the number of cybersecurity vulnerabilities continues to rise.
Defense industry production inputs encompassing skilled labor, raw materials and intermediate goods and services got a failing score of 67 as the backlog of security clearances persists.
Other areas covered in the NDIA report are supply chain performance, political and regulatory activity, innovation and production capacity and surge readiness.
