DoD Official Concerned Over Supply Chain of Hypersonic Weapons Written 23 April 2020
Illustration of Hypersonic Test Vehicle (HTV) 2 reentry phase | David Neyland; Wikipedia; Public Domain
Air Force Times reports that on Wednesday DoD Director of Defense Research and Engineering for Modernization Mark Lewis said, “the supply chain the Pentagon is relying on to develop hypersonic weapons for the future is feeling heat from the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. We’re concerned about our first-tier industrial providers, but also worried right down the supply chain. ... If you look at hypersonics, for example, some of the most critical elements are produced by relatively small operations, and so we’re very sensitive to that, we’re including that as we look at the impacts of coronavirus on the industrial base.” Lewis “added that his office is working with that of Ellen Lord, the Pentagon’s acquisitions head, to track coronavirus impacts ‘across the board.’”
Full Story (Air Force Times)