Jane Edwards
A white paper released by Avascent says U.S. defense companies should assess their business portfolios worldwide and encourage President Donald Trump and Defense Department leaders to build up their advocacy for the defense sector amid shifts in the administration’s security cooperation partnerships.
Defense firms should work to incite the executive branch to support the defense sector in terms of international sales through the development of a “program-specific message†that seeks to determine regional defense and foreign security policy priorities, according to the document published Monday.
The sector should also collaborate with the administration on how to reshape the International Traffic in Arms Regulations and other export requirements and explain the potential benefits of international defense sales to DoD.
For the portfolio review strategy, Avascent advised defense firms to assess programs that are likely to become vulnerable once the U.S. government retreats from treaty commitments with allied countries as well as re-evaluate country and regional plans to predict potential shifts in purchasing behavior and demand for defense equipment.
Defense contractors should have updated market information and analytics in order to validate expectations amid uncertainty in the security cooperation environment, according to the document.
The white paper also cited Trump’s defense priorities that have an impact on defense firms that focus on exports such as the availability of nuclear and conventional forces as part of self-defense and deterrence strategy, creation of defense industrial jobs for U.S. workers and reduction in military hardware costs.
Avascent managing director Jon Barney and James Tinsley co-wrote the white paper with writer-in-residence August Cole and Kelleigh Bilms, an associate at the management consulting company.
