Fundamentally, most governments have chosen not to (and are unable to in the short- to mid-term at least) manufacture weapons systems or components. Governments have also entrusted the delivery of many important services, including the provision of training, to the private sector. The role of the private sector in generating a required military capability is therefore of particular significance when a government opts to use its forces in operations. A capable defense-industrial sector must accordingly be recognized as a multi-faceted national asset contributing to that elusive concept of political power.

It helps to think of two distinct, though overlapping and interdependent areas of analysis: the role played by the industrial base in preparing the military for operations, and the various activities undertaken by industry within those theaters of operations, close to the sharp-end of military endeavors. Both areas pose multiple challenges and opportunities for policy makers, military practitioners and industrialists.

This chapter seeks to contribute to a more nuanced understanding of these challenges and opportunities—an imperative for public and private defense stakeholders, not only in states with an advanced defense industrial base but also in those with a high level of defense imports, emerging domestic defense-industrial capabilities and a policy to advance their national defense efforts.