Investment in Defense

The United States military relies on the vitality and ingenuity of the American free market system to provide the goods and services it needs to win. The foundation of a healthy manufacturing and defense industrial base is a consistent demand signal, with robust, stable, and balanced budgets that enable the industrial base to align investments in research and development (R&D). Additionally, production facilities help secure their sources of supplies to meet DoD’s needs. In an era of great power competition, strong defense spending is vital for protecting the defense industrial base’s ingenuity and surge capacity.

AIA Position StatementLook Toward the Future

Congress must provide our military with the resources and capabilities needed to carry out our National Defense Strategy, and to support a defense industrial base that is responsive to both current and future challenges. It must be resilient in the face of economic distress or a pandemic, like we saw with COVID-19.

In 2018, the Commission on the National Defense Strategy for the United States concluded that real growth in the defense budget, in the range of 3-5% annually, is required for the DoD to execute the National Defense Strategy and meet our global commitments effectively. AIA agrees with this assessment, which was made by a bipartisan panel of distinguished military and civilian leaders.

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Defense spending also has immediate positive effects on America’s broader security, economy, and technology base. Defense spending is not “priming the pump” or creating artificial demand; it flows immediately into our economy to meet real, documented military requirements. During the COVID-19 pandemic, defense spending has proven to be a vital lifeline to small businesses in both defense and commercial markets that are still years away from fully recovering. Strong and stable funding also preserves and enhances the defense industrial base by enabling companies to attract and sustain a workforce, raise capital, and take risks to innovate.

AIA’s Role

AIA represents more than 330 companies that help comprise the U. S. aerospace and defense industrial base (DIB). Our industry’s more than 2.1 million workers develop, build, and deliver the cutting-edge systems and platforms used by our troops as they protect our national interests around the world. Strong, stable, and bipartisan defense investment sends a powerful message to allies and adversaries alike that defending America’s national security interests is our top priority. This also helps ensure the health and resiliency of the DIB and its workforce, strategic assets that play an essential role in our country’s security.