Small- and mid-size defense suppliers are leaving capital on the table, and the Pentagon is starting to say so explicitly. At a Hudson Institute panel on Sept. 24, Andy Magliochetti, Navy deputy assistant for the defense industrial base, said the domestic supply chain is not where it needs to be for either legacy sustainment or new system scale-up. Jai Malik, CEO of aerospace and defense manufacturer Amca, was more direct, saying suppliers are not investing at risk or doing long-term demand forecasting the way they should. Jeff Frankston, the acting deputy assistant secretary for industrial base resilience at the DOD, added that the supply chain must shift to a "domestic-first" approach while also leveraging allies and that a Pacific conflict scenario alone argues against geographic dependence in critical supply lines.