Episode Notes:

The U.S. assistance to Ukraine has underscored well-known challenges with the Defense Department’s acquisition and budgeting processes. To discuss these challenges, Eric Lofgren, a senior fellow at George Mason University and host of the Acquisition Talk podcast and blog, talks about which munitions the department is buying, the need to reform the acquisition process, and why commercialization of certain products should be a priority moving forward.

[ 0:28 ] Supply of weapons to Ukraine and what it means for the Defense Department's budget

[ 3:52 ] Focusing on China with a land war in Europe

[ 5:16 ] Lead times and producing weapons

[ 8:38 ] The industrial base