How Has COVID-19 Affected the Global Defense Industry?

Any assessment of the health of defense industry supply chains has to distinguish the impact of the pandemic from increasing protectionism and intellectual property maneuvering.

COVID has hit supply chains in every industry worldwide. The defense industry has usually been resilient to global trade shocks, but the factors that cushion defense have withered in recent years. Supply chains diversified as the key companies in the defense sector began to act as systems integrators rather than industrial producers. This allowed the defense industry to enjoy all of the advantages of globalization, but also caused the industry to take on increased vulnerability. 
The impact of the pandemic will undoubtedly re-energize the debate within the Pentagon over the wisdom of demanding extensive intellectual property concessions from vendors. The acquisition of IP enables the Pentagon to find alternative supplies for particular hardware components.

This article was written by Robert Farley

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