The B-21 Raider

The B-21 Raider was unveiled to the public at a ceremony Dec. 2, 2022 in Palmdale, Calif. The B-21 is a product of partnerships with industry, the Department of Defense, and Congress. The program is designed to deliver on our enduring commitment to provide flexible strike options for coalition operations that defend us against common threats. (U.S. Air Force photo)

Integration with Allied and Partners' Industrial Base

Published April 21, 2026
By AF Futures
AF Futures

TOPIC SPONSOR: AF Futures

How does the United States integrate the allied and partners' industrial base to generate and sustain mass in a future conflict?

Beto, Capt. Christopher, "Directed Output of Missiles: Manufacturing Ordnances in Remote Locations," SOS AUAR paper, 2020, 6 pgs.
Cahoon, Lt. Col. Troy Lee, "The Military Might of Manufacturing: How Manufacturing Massive Fleets of Factories, eVTOLs, Drones, Robots, Weapons, and Electrified Systems Will Re-Instate American Military Primacy," AWC PSP, 2021, 33 pgs.
Gadbois, Major Aaron J., "Influencing the Next Multi-Billion Dollar Government Program: US Semiconductor Manufacturing," Air Force Fellows paper, 2021, 20 pgs.
Moss, Tyler M., "Guns, Butter and Narratives: The Real Version of Rock, Paper, Scissors," SAASS thesis, 2025, 84 pgs.
- Moss answers this by proposing a data-driven framework designed to identify and select foreign nations for Defense Industrial Base (DIB) integration. He argues that the U.S. must transition to a "web-like production chain" through "friend-shoring" to expand manufacturing capabilities for prolonged, high-intensity conflict. By systematically evaluating foreign nations across nine specific variables, Moss identifies and ranks the top 30 countries—led by nations like Poland, Israel, South Korea, and Germany—that are optimally suited for strategic economic partnerships to bolster U.S. DIB production capacity and strengthen integrated deterrence.