#Defense Industrial Base

The Department of Defense has issued a public comment request regarding an information collection renewal by the Employer Support for the Guard and Reserve. The initiative seeks to streamline employer data collection, reduce administrative burden on private sector partners, and optimize reserve force readiness.

The Small Business Administration is adapting its historic Smaller War Plants Commission model to integrate non-traditional small businesses, drone makers, and space tech startups into the national defense industrial base to improve supply chain resilience.

SBA’s proposed size-standard overhaul could give growing contractors more runway while introducing thousands of experienced firms into the small-business market. Defense Signals examines what the changes could mean for competition, set-asides and contractor growth strategies.

CISA has issued an updated Insider Threat Mitigation Guide featuring new case studies and strategies to help defense, critical infrastructure, and government contracting leaders address converging physical and cyber risk vectors.

Federal agencies and defense contractors must shift focus from mere hiring metrics to job quality, leveraging acquisition levers to stabilize the defense industrial workforce and protect mission readiness.

The House-approved continuing resolution temporarily averts the sunset of the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015, preserving key liability protections for private sector defense and industry partners sharing threat intelligence with federal agencies through December 11.

The SBA and defense leaders have established the Smaller War Plants Commission to strengthen sub-tier manufacturing capacity, expand capital access for small firms, and de-risk critical defense supply chains.

Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao has appointed Andrew Magliochetti as Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for the Defense Industrial Base. Magliochetti will oversee strategic initiatives to strengthen supply chain resiliency, expand shipyard capacity, and accelerate naval fleet readiness.

NASA has allocated $10.5 million across seven educational institutions to establish state-level technical training hubs. The initiative addresses critical labor shortages in the U.S. aerospace sector, strengthening the defense industrial base and civil space mission readiness.