Transforming the U.S. Space Industrial Base

"The U.S. government must take a more active and sustained role in managing the space industrial base beyond managing mergers and acquisitions," according to Booz Allen Hamilton Vice President Thomas Moorman. A retired four-star general and a former Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Moorman sat on a panel "Transforming the Space Industrial Base" at the 19th National Space Symposium held earlier this spring in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

The Role of Space on Today's Battlefield

"Space has become like air-conditioning — it is so essential to today's battlefield," according to Moorman. "Our competitive advantage lies in our knowledge of the enemy and our ability to sense what is going on almost continually; to take advantage of that data through targeting and striking; and to assess the results of a strike — all before the enemy can even react."

The National Space Symposium panel also featured Dr. William Ballhaus, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Aerospace Corporation; Lt. Gen. Brian Arnold, USAF, Commander, Space and Missile Systems Center, Air Force Space Command; Wes Bush, President of Northrop Grumman Space Technology; Lt. Gen. George Muellner, USAF (Ret), Senior Vice President of Air Force Systems for The Boeing Company; and Albert Smith, Executive Vice President of Lockheed Martin Space Systems.

Today's Most Pressing Industrial-Base Challenges

Moorman believes that industrial base issues such as workforce and technology and innovation require special attention. "As the industry downsizes and more monolithic companies are created, we must be careful to retain sufficient innovation and competition," he explained. "While the larger companies are focused on application and ways to integrate systems, the technical breakthroughs may likely be accomplished by the smaller companies. We must be careful that those second- and third-tier contractors, which provide sub-systems and components, don't out of business." Moorman also expressed concern about the graying of the industry's workforce — 50 percent of whom will be eligible for retirement in five years.

"One could argue that this is an unprecedented time for the space business," Moorman said. "All of the legacy space systems are being replaced and three new transformational programs have been introduced — the Transformational Communication System, Space-Based Radar, and Space-Based Surveillance System." Even with the high-profile attention space programs are receiving, he recommends that the government:

• Reestablish industrial-base offices in acquisition centers and include industrial-base considerations in acquisition strategies and source selections



• Exercise oversight of the industrial base during the acquisition processes for major systems



• Encourage a stronger sense of a government-industry partnership

Booz Allen and the National Security Industrial Base

In 1999, the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics and the Deputy Director of Central Intelligence commissioned Booz Allen to conduct a Space Industrial Base Study. "The study gave the Defense Department and the Intelligence community an understanding of the space industrial base at all levels, from broad financial trends to specific technologies," Moorman explained.

"Over the years, Booz Allen has become an acknowledged leader in assessing the sufficiency of the industrial base that supports our country's national security," he said. "The best illustration of our reputation in this area is that we have recently secured a contract for $2.8B from the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Industrial Policy to identify critical industries and technologies to ensure critical warfighting capabilities for the future."

story posted May 19, 2003