Why It Matters

The House Armed Services Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces hearing on "Modernization of the Organic Industrial Base" will examine the U.S. military’s ability to sustain operations in peer-level conflict on February 24th.

The Army has fallen short of its goal to produce 100,000 155mm artillery rounds per month, with production stalling at 40,000 rounds monthly. The Defense Department relies on more than 200,000 suppliers, many operating without visibility into whether critical components are domestically sourced. The U.S. had to source TNT for artillery shells from Poland, Ukraine, Australia, and Asia after closing domestic TNT production in 1986.

Key stakeholders affected include military readiness dependent on government-owned arsenals, defense contractors like Siemens, UI Labs, and Nammo Inc. actively lobbying for modernization contracts, and congressional districts where Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) has fought to protect Picatinny Arsenal and Rep. Eric Sorensen (D-IL) has engaged over Rock Island Arsenal’s future.

The Trump Administration’s 2026 National Defense Strategy explicitly designates "Supercharge the U.S. Defense Industrial Base" as a key line of effort, elevating this hearing’s importance for the upcoming National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027.

Broader Context

Recent global conflicts have exposed vulnerabilities in America’s defense manufacturing capacity. Previous hearings—including a February 2025 full committee session and June 2025 subcommittee hearing on Army munitions modernization—established consensus that the Organic Industrial Base (OIB) cannot scale production rapidly.

Key challenges include production shortfalls with munitions output below targets, workforce shortages where 79 percent of manufacturing leaders identify skilled labor as a major challenge, supply chain fragility with critical materials concentrated in foreign sources, and facility-specific threats like controversial Army restructuring proposals.

The Agenda

The subcommittee will examine the Army’s government-owned manufacturing network with witnesses Brent Ingraham of the Department of the Army and Chris Mohan of Army Materiel Command overseeing facilities requiring substantial investment to address production bottlenecks.

Committee Chair Rob Wittman (R-VA) and Ranking Member Donald Norcross (D-NJ) lead bipartisan oversight. Active members include Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ), who opposed Army restructuring at Picatinny Arsenal, Rep. Rich McCormick (R-GA), championing LEAD Army Depot modernization, and Rep. Eric Sorensen (D-IL), engaging on Rock Island Arsenal’s future.

Between The Lines

Congress is jockeying.
Chair Rob Wittman (R-VA) wants to lead defense industrial modernization, championing efforts to maximize production at Radford Army Ammunition Plant.

Key member actions also include Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) leading bipartisan opposition to Army restructuring threatening readiness, Rep. Rich McCormick (R-GA) championing modernization at LEAD Army Depot, and Rep. Joe Courtney (D-CT) securing multiyear procurement authority for UH-60 helicopters to enable supplier investment.

Competitive Landscape

Siemens Corp. dominates lobbying efforts, spending over $2 million in late 2025 on "commercial and defense-related shipbuilding and industrial base modernization" and "AI for manufacturing use cases."

UI Labs focused $80,000 on "Digital Modernization of Army Materiel Command" and "Organic Industrial Base Modernization." Nammo Inc. spent $110,000 advocating for munitions industrial base expansion. The Massachusetts Development Finance Agency invested $80,000 seeking regional defense investment.

The Bottom Line

The Army faces mounting pressure to modernize its government-owned manufacturing network amid bipartisan consensus that aging infrastructure, workforce shortages, and fragile supply chains threaten military readiness. Corporate interests—particularly Siemens with over $2 million in lobbying—are positioning for digital transformation contracts.

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