The Defence Industrial Base and the West

Book excerpt: This book, first published in 1989, analyses the effect that interdependence has had on the defence industrial base, concentrating upon those defence industries situated at the hi-tech end, and paying particular attention to the procurement decisions that affect the production of sophisticated military aircraft. Interdependence raises questions of importance to international relations, strategic studies and defence economics, and Western industrialised states have an ongoing dilemma over the degree to which they should subject their defence industrial bases to the forces of economic interdependence. Despite worries over strategic vulnerability, most Western states have been showing increased interest in arms collaboration, with the aim of maximizing the amount of weaponry available for defence. As this book shows, such a goal becomes increasingly important s the technological sophistication of weapons grows.