Industry must sharpen its manufacturing edge.

• Author: Farrell, Lawrence P., Jr.
• Position: PRESIDENT'S PERSPECTIVE

Defense Department leaders and members of Congress recently have voiced concerns about the mounting cost of weapons systems. Major procurement programs, including fighter aircraft, ships and ground vehicles, have been under intense scrutiny, and the pressure will continue for the foreseeable future as the defense budget continues to tighten.

The defense industry obviously must be concerned about these developments, which will affect companies large and small. As the industry seeks ways to cut costs, one area that deserves close attention is manufacturing. Even relatively small investments in advanced manufacturing processes can save millions of dollars in weapon costs.

Although key sectors of the manufacturing industry have been declining in the United States for several decades as companies have moved production plants offshore, the defense industry will need to reverse that trend and actually strengthen its manufacturing capabilities. By law, 50 percent of the content of U.S. weapon systems must be made domestically, and political sensitivities increasingly are pushing for more military equipment to be produced at home.

A study by the National Research Council recommended that the Defense Department augment its research and development manufacturing efforts. The report, titled "Defense Manufacturing in 2010 and Beyond," notes that manufacturing plays a vital role in the nation's defense capabilities. During the Cold War, defense products were manufactured largely by a dedicated defense industry. Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, a number of circumstances shaped defense manufacturing trends, such as changing threats to national security, declining defense budgets, consolidation of the industry, the increasing globalization and the accelerated rate of change of technology.

One area that the NRC identified as having the greatest potential for benefiting the defense industry is advanced manufacturing processes and technologies, such as predictive process control, high-speed machining, flexible tooling, soft tooling, tool-less assembly and embedded sensors.

Among the organizations that are actively engaged in developing advanced manufacturing processes is the non-profit National Center for Defense Machining and Manufacturing in Latrobe, Pa. NCDMM's mission is to advance the use of state-of-the-art manufacturing solutions by U.S.-based manufacturers involved in the production of existing and yet-to-be developed defense systems. (By way of...