The Arsenal Beneath the Arsenal

The Arsenal Beneath the Arsenal

From War on the Rocks by Ryan Evans

February 27, 2026 · 27 min

About this episode

Michael Cadenazzi discusses the state of the defense industrial base and the challenges of rebuilding American military power.

What does it take to rebuild the foundation of American military power? Michael Cadenazzi, assistant secretary of defense for industrial base policy, joined Ryan at a live event a few weeks back for a fascinating discussion on the state of the defense industrial base (from new VC-backed entrants to the primes), the race for critical minerals, supply chain vulnerabilities, the unsexy realities of implementation, the role of allies, and the challenges of scaling production. He is also looking for your ideas. Special thanks to Altana for hosting the event at which this episode was recorded.

People in this episode

Host: Ryan Evans

Guest: Michael Cadenazzi

Topics covered

  • American military power
  • defense industrial base
  • supply chain vulnerabilities
  • critical minerals
  • production challenges

Keywords

  • defense
  • military power
  • industrial base
  • supply chain
  • critical minerals
  • production scaling

Sponsors

Altana

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