Pentagon to assess defense industry capabilities.

• Author: Fein, Geoff S.
• Position: Washington Pulse - Brief Article

The Pentagon is undertaking an assessment of the defense industrial base's capabilities to respond to the military services' needs, according to Suzanne Patrick, deputy undersecretary of defense for industrial policy.

Her office is analyzing five functional concepts relevant to the defense industry: battle space awareness, command-and-control, force application, protection, and focused logistics, she said in a speech at the 2003 Defense Manufacturer's Conference.

This month, her office is publishing its first report on the concept of battle space awareness, said Patrick. The reports based on the other four concepts will follow in early 2005, she added.

"The aim of this series is to redefine and reassess ... which industrial base capabilities are truly critical to the war fighter," she said. The ultimate goal is that the description of these critical capabilities will help re-focus the manufacturing base...