Vital Signs

Vital Signs 2025 Report

   Vital Signs 2025 Report


Explore the Vital Signs 2025 Report:
Welcome to NDIA’s Vital Signs 2025 report, which draws from over 1,200 industry and government leaders, offering key insights where government and industry can partner together to better manage time and money to increase the capacity, capability, and resilience that can pace at speed and scale with 21st century innovation and technology.


Key Highlights of the 2025 Vital Signs Report:

  • Traditional U.S. DIB companies are operating under increasing scrutiny and oversight by both the exec­utive and congressional branches but are weighed down with government policy, statutory, and regulatory requirements that both increase cost and stifle speed and innovation.

  • Over the horizon, nontraditional defense contractors are also aware that successfully producing and fielding capabilities for the U.S. warfighter will graduate them into the same costly regulatory requirements weighing down traditional contractors.

  • Policymakers want to attract and retain small and non­traditional companies into the U.S. defense ecosystem, but they are struggling to reduce significant barriers to entry and retention, including increasing regulatory compliance costs and concerns regarding intellectual property (IP) rights.

  • Vital Signs 2025 ReportPolicymakers are working on innovative offensive and defensive strategies as part of global technological competition, but Cold War-era frameworks around export and technology releasability controls continue to drive status quo outcomes in defense trade.

  • Policymakers expect the U.S. DIB to rapidly expand pro­duction capability before contract vehicles are awarded, but DoD continues to struggle with building acquisi­tion strategies that incentivize business decisions and effectively manage workforce talent required for sus­tained surge capacity.

  • Policymakers expect companies to de-risk their supply chain strategies, built during the last 35 years for consumer convenience and cost efficiencies, without sufficient government financial incentives or consistency.

  • 76 Actionable Policy Recommendations – Get access to short-, medium-, and long-term solutions for policymakers, defense leaders, and industry partners





Vital Signs

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