The Pentagon has entered a new agreement with the German military meant to bolster defense industrial supply chains, an increasingly urgent priority for both nations since the start of the war in Ukraine.
“The arrangement will enable both the U.S. and Germany to acquire the industrial resources they need to quickly meet defense requirements, resolve unanticipated disruptions that challenge defense capabilities and promote supply chain resiliency,” DOD said in a statement.
The bilateral, non-binding Security of Supply Arrangement was signed in Brussels yesterday by Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Bill LaPlante and Head of the Directorate-General for Equipment within the Federal Ministry of Defence Vice Adm. Carsten Stawitzki.
Through the arrangement, both countries have committed their intent to support each other’s “priority delivery requests for procurement of critical national defense resources,” according to DOD.
The United States has agreed to provide “some assurance” to Germany under the U.S. Defense Priorities and Allocations System, with program determinations to be made by DOD and the Commerce Department.
Germany, meanwhile, will establish a “Code of Conduct” within its defense industrial base, in which German companies will “voluntarily agree to make every reasonable effort to provide the U.S. with priority support.”
Germany is the 19th SOSA partner of the United States, with the other signatories being Australia, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Spain, South Korea, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
“SOSAs are an important mechanism for DOD to strengthen interoperability and are a proven supply chain tool for enabling a resilient, global defense ecosystem for the U.S. and key partners and allies,” DOD said. “The arrangements institute working groups, establish communication mechanisms, streamline DOD processes and proactively act to allay anticipated supply chain issues in peacetime, emergency, and armed conflict.”
LaPlante, meanwhile, has been traveling the globe trying to boost defense industrial production of U.S. allies to better deter China and Russia, calling it “the task of the era.”