Navy boss launches defense industrial base office
Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao announced Monday the launch of the department’s Office of the Defense Industrial Base, which will be tasked with leading efforts to bolster supply chains and accelerate the delivery of dual-use technologies.
The move comes less than two weeks after President Donald Trump issued a memorandum on “Rebuilding the United States Navy and America’s Shipbuilding Industrial Base.”
“The lack of capacity and competition among shipbuilders has resulted in large backlogs of orders across six major Navy shipbuilding programs and a commercial shipbuilding sector that is not globally competitive. An atrophied shipbuilding industrial base, coupled with diminished adjacent supplier bases, has expanded delays and increased costs. The Department of War shall restore both capacity and competition to the maritime industrial base as it expands our naval force structure,” Trump wrote in the memo, using his preferred name for the Department of Defense.
Cao on Monday announced that Andrew Magliochetti has been tapped to lead the Navy’s new Office of the Defense Industrial Base as deputy assistant secretary of the Navy. He will also serve as the principal civilian adviser to the department’s research, development and acquisition chief.
According to a service press release, he’ll focus on “driving the revitalization of the maritime industrial base, fostering supply chain resilience, and accelerating the transition of innovative technologies from the private sector to the Fleet.”
Magliochetti recently served as director of the Navy’s Office of Small Business Programs. Last week, Cao announced that Nicole Perry had moved into that role and that Magliochetti would be transitioning to a new initiative.
Prior to overseeing the department’s small business programs, Magliochetti worked in the financial sector, most recently as co-founder and managing partner of IronGate Capital Advisors, which invests in early-stage companies and venture capital partnerships focused on national security and dual-use applications of advanced tech, according to his LinkedIn profile.
In a statement posted Monday on social media, Cao said Magliochetti in his new role will “lead initiatives to expand the domestic manufacturing ecosystem, mitigate supply chain vulnerabilities, and integrate dual-use commercial technologies to enhance the lethality of the Navy-Marine Corps team.”
Magliochetti’s appointment comes as the Trump administration is pursuing a so-called “Golden Fleet” that is envisioned to include new platforms, such as the BBGN battleship and unmanned systems, among other assets.
The administration has also encouraged the venture capital community to back companies working on defense-related tech and appointed individuals with investment experience to high-level roles within the DOD.
“The modernization of a lethal, combat-ready force and the development of our Golden Fleet depend on our ability to leverage cutting-edge technology and robust manufacturing,” Cao said in a statement Monday, adding that Magliochetti’s “deep experience in venture capital and national security technology makes him the ideal leader to spearhead this effort and ensure our supply chains deliver dominant warfighting capabilities at tactical speed.”
Magliochetti said in a statement that he’s committed to “accelerating the delivery of resilient supply chains and cutting-edge, dual-use technologies directly into the hands of our warfighters to ensure our Sailors and Marines are ready for any high-end fight.”
