Defense-Industrial Initiatives Group

Strengthening our understanding of the relationship between the Department of Defense and its industrial base

DIIG provides timely, in-depth analysis on the critical issues at the cross-section of the Department of Defense and its industrial base. With a focus on defense acquisition trends, technological innovation, security cooperation, and ongoing reform efforts, DIIG monitors important developments in the global defense industry. DIIG’s products consist of major research projects, published reports, commentaries, interviews, and events.

About the Defense-Industrial Initiatives Group

Learn more about the CSIS Defense-Industrial Initiatives Group and the experts and staff that contribute to our analysis.

Cynthia Cook

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Photo: ABCreative/Adobe Stock

Photo: ABCreative/Adobe Stock

Bolstering Collective Resilience in Europe

Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine puts the necessity for European resilience into sharper focus. This brief argues for a new framing of NATO’s approach to resilience to amplify allies’ combined capacity to tackle shared challenges and threats.

Brief by Cynthia Cook and Anna M. Dowd — December 9, 2022

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Photo: Lockheed Martin.

Current Challenges to the Defense Industrial Base

Defense-Industrial Initiatives Group's roundtable discussion on defense industrial base challenges in the context of the Ukraine war.

September 20, 2022

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Is Bigger Better? Concentration, Competition, and Defense Contracting Outcomes

Join the CSIS Defense Industrial Initiatives Group for the launch of their new report that examines the relationship between industrial concentration and competition with U.S. defense acquisition performance outcomes.

Event by Gregory Sanders , Andrew Philip Hunter , Frank Kendall , Barry Lynn , Marjorie Censer , and Pierre Chao — February 11, 2019

Is Bigger Better? Concentration, Competition, and Defense Contracting Outcomes

Evaluating Consolidation and the Threat of Monopolies within Industrial Sectors

As concerns over consolidation within defense industrial sectors are becoming more apparent, CSIS Defense-Industrial and Initiatives Group looks at the relationship between industrial consolidation, competition, and contracting performance outcomes.

Report by Gregory Sanders , Zach Huitink , and Andrew Philip Hunter — February 11, 2019

Photo: SENIOR MASTER SGT. ADRIAN CADIZ/DOD

Beating the Air into Submission: Investing in Vertical Lift Modernization

The U.S. military’s fleet of helicopters and tiltrotors is aging. While there are ambitious plans to modernize the fleet, much of the investment path ahead remains unclear. This brief looks at past vertical lift investments to help inform future investment plans.

Brief by Andrew Philip Hunter , Robert Karlen , and Gabriel Coll — February 4, 2019

Photo: Department of Defense

Surviving the Defense Industry: New Entrants and Small Business Graduation

Join us as we present the results and recommendations from a recent report that tracks businesses new to the federal contracting arena from 2001-2016, otherwise known as new entrants, using publicly available contracting data from the Federal Procurement Data System.

Event by Gregory Sanders , Andrew Philip Hunter , Emily Harman , Christian Brose , Tara Murphy Dougherty , and Brennan Grignon — February 1, 2019

Surviving the Defense Industry: New Entrants and Small Business Graduation

The Business of Software Innovation

The speakers will discuss business models through which the U.S. government and industry can work together in developing software for national security capabilities.

Event by Andrew Philip Hunter , Jeff Boleng , Brett Lambert , and Beth McGrath — January 29, 2019

The Business of Software Innovation

Press Briefing: The State of the U.S. Defense Industrial Base

The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) has hosted a press briefing ahead of the Global Strategy Forum and the Reagan National Defense Forum on the state of the Defense Industrial Base.

Event by Gregory Sanders and Andrew Philip Hunter — November 27, 2018

Photo: WIKUS DE WET/AFP/Getty Images

New Entrants and Small Business Graduation in the Market for Federal Contracts

This report analyzes vendors new to federal contracting from 2001-2016 by calculating the survival rates for small and non-small new entrants, and the graduation rates for those that started as small. The number of vendors new to federal contracting have declined since 2005.

Report by Gregory Sanders and Andrew Philip Hunter — November 20, 2018

Photo: U.S. Army/CC BY 2.0

Economic Security as National Security: A Discussion with Dr. Peter Navarro

Watch as CSIS had a discussion with Dr. Peter Navarro, Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy to learn more about the administration’s view of how economic policy supports national security.

Event by Andrew Philip Hunter and Dr. Peter Navarro — November 9, 2018

Economic Security as National Security: A Discussion with Dr. Peter Navarro