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Commanders urge FMS reform, multiyear funding to stabilize defense industrial base
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Summary
CENTCOM and members of the House committee identified the Foreign Military Sales process and uneven industrial-base investment as obstacles to timely partner support, with commanders asking Congress for multi-year funding to enable production ramp-up.
Senior military leaders and committee members told the House Armed Services Committee that the Foreign Military Sales process and a fragile defense industrial base are slowing deliveries of critical systems to partners.
Gen. Eric Kurilla said the FMS and DCS processes are slow and that foreign partners frequently complain about timelines. "If you had that blank sheet of paper and you were writing it out...sometimes we take months and up to a year when someone says, I'd like to sell you Patriots, and we go back and forth for a year. That should be days or weeks," Kurilla said.
Nut graf: Witnesses urged both process reform and greater industrial certainty. Kurilla recommended multi-year funding and production certainty so industry will invest in capital and production lines; he said Congress can help by authorizing multi-year appropriations and encouraging in-region production where appropriate.
Kurilla told the committee the department needs to fix internal DOD processes, improve State Department timelines and address industry investments: "The biggest problem we have right now is with industry, that they are not putting the investments into capital into their production lines... Congress can help with multi year funding." He also supported examining non‑treaty controls that inhibit allied production in-place.
Ending: Committee members signaled bipartisan interest in acquisition reform; witnesses said changes would speed partner access to capabilities and sustain interoperability in the region.
