Gen. Charles “CQ” Brown, chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force, said the Department of Defense needs to communicate a steady demand signal to help the defense industrial base keep up with the U.S. military’s demand for missiles, munitions and spare parts, DefenseNews reported Thursday.
Brown said the Air Force is proposing multiyear procurements of Raytheon Technologies‘ AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile and Lockheed Martin‘s Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile-Extended Range and Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile to establish a steady flow of weapons production.
The Air Force has the authority to make multiyear purchases for weapons under the fiscal year National Defense Authorization Act.
In its budget proposal for FY 2024, the Air Force wants to roughly double its overall missile spending to $4.7 billion from $2.3 billion in the previous year.
“We’ve got to look at multiyear procurements so that it helps give a predictable demand signal to industry,” Brown said.
“And it’s not just the prime [contractors], it’s all the subs below them so they actually have supply chains laid in, they’re [set up with the proper facilities], they have the workforce, and it’s not a little bit up and down and unpredictability,” he added.
In late May, Brown received nomination from President Biden to serve as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
