Technology
The COVID-19 pandemic has put the defense industrial base through a stress test unlike any other but one that did have some groundwork laid before it. In this episode of Project 38, John Luddy of the Aerospace Industries Association explains what the sector was concerned about before the pandemic and what this national emergency has highlighted. AIA is one of the major trade groups that represents companies in the government market to federal agencies and lawmakers. As its vice president of national security policy, Luddy has his eye not just on member companies but how their government customers and the Defense Department in particular are managing through the crisis. Major questions remain to be answered and the funding environment remains a significant question mark, but Luddy walks us through the items that warrant consideration and what DOD has done so far to support cash-strapped companies in particular.