Oct 6 -- DoD posts typo correction
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/10/06/2021-21847/federal-register-notice-of-request-for-written-comments-in-support-of-the-department-of-defenses
Sept 28 -- The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) invites public information by October 13, 2021 on supply chains for the defense industrial base, including key vulnerabilities and potential courses of action to strengthen it.
On February 24, 2021, President Biden issued E.O. 14017, America's Supply Chains, which focuses on the need for resilient, diverse, and secure supply chains to ensure U.S. economic prosperity and national security across six sectors of the economy. E.O. 14017 directs the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the heads of appropriate agencies, to submit a report within one year on supply chains for the defense industrial base. This report will provide an assessment of key supply chains, including their vulnerabilities and potential courses of action to strengthen the defense industrial base. The E.O. 14017 effort will build on the E.O. 13806 report, Assessing and Strengthening the Manufacturing and Defense Industrial Base and Supply Chain Resiliency of the United State (released October 2018) and the Annual Industrial Capabilities Report, which is mandated by the Congress pursuant to 10 U.S.C. 2504.
This notice requests comments and information from the public to assist the DoD's assessment of defense industrial base supply chains. The DoD is interested in comments (both general inputs and specific responses to the questions at the end of this section) that will help the Department respond to E.O. 14017 by providing information about key supply chain vulnerabilities and opportunities to address these vulnerabilities.
In particular, the Department selected the following four (4) topics to focus on in the one-year report, and seeks comments about supply chain vulnerabilities and opportunities in these areas:
i. Select kinetic capabilities: Includes Precision Guided Munitions (PGMs), Hypersonics, and Directed Energy (DE). Key components ( e.g., critical energetics, microelectronics) are almost exclusively produced by foreign entities, including adversarial nations.
ii. Energy storage/batteries: Energy storage is critical to all kinetic capabilities, and is an evolving requirement. Defense-unique requirements with low domestic production volumes create supply chain risk and high local costs.
iii. Microelectronics: Similar to energy storage, microelectronics are vital components used in nearly all defense systems. Defense-specific challenges arise from acquisition processes, obsolescence, and the need for secure suppliers. The one-year effort will focus on military-specific microelectronics requirements and the ongoing challenges between commercial and defense requirements.
iv. Castings and forgings: Manufacturing is dependent on casting and forging capabilities and capacity. An overall decrease in domestic capability and capacity limits the industrial base's ability to develop, sustain, or expand production. Expanding our domestic capabilities will reinforce efforts to onshore commercial manufacturing.
The DoD also requests input on the following five (5) systemic enablers, as they span all four (4) topic areas, are critical to mission success, and gaps or fragility in each can create operational and strategic risk.
i. Workforce: Includes all persons needed for a focus area, from skilled trades to specialty engineering degrees;
ii. Cyber posture: Includes cybersecurity, industrial security, and counterintelligence;
iii. Interoperability: Requirements needed to support operations with our allies, as well as the requirements to further enhance our interoperability between and among DoD's systems and platforms;
iv. Small business: Focuses on addressing the barriers and challenges to small businesses to enter, and stay in, the defense ecosystem (both as primes and sub-contractors); and
v. Manufacturing: Includes core/traditional manufacturing modes and new manufacturing technology, such as additive manufacturing.
FR notice inviting public input on defense industrial base supply chains:
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/09/28/2021-21046/federal-register-notice-of-request-for-written-comments-in-support-of-the-department-of-defenses