Chinese firms still made up 9.3 per cent of the primary contractors, or Tier 1 suppliers, involved in major US defence programmes across nine critical sectors in 2024, Govini said in its annual National Security Scorecard.
“The United States is not prepared for the war that we may have to enter if China said, ‘today is the day’,” said Tara Dougherty, chief executive of the Washington-based defence acquisition information firm.
Its researchers analysed US Department of Defence spending data in nine key areas – aviation, maritime, C4I (command, control, communications, computers and intelligence), mission support, nuclear, missiles and munitions, ground, missile defence and space.
They concluded that US supply chains were “incredibly brittle” and that China, categorised as an “adversarial” nation, was home to the most Tier 1 suppliers.
According to the report, the missile defence sector had the most significant reliance on Chinese suppliers, who had a share of 11.1 per cent.
