The defense industrial bases of the U.S. and its allies must be able to rapidly produce warfighting capabilities to defend against adversaries and at the same time be able to innovate to meet changing battlefield needs, the Biden administration says in its National Security Strategy released on Wednesday.
“The war in Ukraine highlights the criticality of a vibrant Defense Industrial Base for the United States and its allies and partners,” the 48-page strategy document says.
The U.S. is investing in a number of key technologies and applications to meet new threats, including for the cyber and space domains, missile defeat, artificial intelligence and quantum systems, the strategy says.
The National Security Strategy also states that “Nuclear deterrence remains a top priority” and that in the coming years the U.S. will have to “deter two major nuclear powers” equipped with modern, global and regional nuclear forces. Those powers would be Russia and China.
“To ensure our nuclear deterrent remains responsive to the threats we face, we are modernizing the nuclear Triad, nuclear command, control, and communications, and our nuclear weapons infrastructure, as well as strengthening our extended deterrence commitments to our Allies,” the strategy says.
Competition with the major powers—Russia and China—and transnational challenges frame the National Security Strategy. These challenges include climate change, food insecurity, communicable diseases, terrorism, energy shortages and inflation.
The strategy warns that “The risk of conflict between major powers is increasing” and that the battle is between “Democracies and autocracies” and comes down to “which system of governance can best deliver for their people and the world.”
Building on President Biden’s warning that the “world is at an inflection point,” White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Wednesday that this decade is “decisive” due the challenges of major power competition and transnational threats.
To meet the challenges, Sullivan summarized what the strategy says must be done. First, is to make investments in “the underlying sources and tools of American power and influence,” he said.
These investments go beyond defense to include industry, innovation, people, clean energy, and resilience, and strengthening democracy at home.
Second, Sullivan said, is “build the strongest possible coalition of nations to enhance our collective influence, both to shape the global strategic environment and to address these transnational threats that require cooperation to succeed.”
International cooperation to establish “rules of the road” in cyberspace, trade, economics and other areas is also needed, he said. Getting this done will result in U.S. interests and values being reflected globally and enable countries to cope with challenges framed by the strategy, he said.