US President Donald Trump has invoked the Defence Production Act to address constraints in weapons supply and development for munitions production and supply chains, according to a memo made public yesterday.
The move comes amid growing concern in Washington about the capacity of US weapons manufacturers to meet demand.
Solid rocket motors, igniters and guidance systems are among the most critical and capacity-constrained sub-systems needed for weapons production, both for legacy systems and future modernisation programmes.
“I hereby find that conditions exist which may pose a direct threat to the national defense or its preparedness programmes,” Trump said in a June 11 memorandum to the Pentagon chief.
The memo to the defence secretary delegates authority to pursue voluntary agreements with private industry aimed at shoring up the defense industrial base.
The Act allows the president to consult with representatives of industry to establish voluntary agreements to help provide for the national defense, but only when conditions exist that may pose a direct threat.
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