Why one former defense executive believes the defense industrial base doesn’t need more requirements. It needs better tools and he has created them.
For nearly three decades, Cullen Glass worked at the intersection of supply chain, manufacturing and technology. What he witnessed across America’s defense industrial base convinced him that one of the nation’s greatest strategic advantages may also be one of its most overlooked vulnerabilities.
“Suppliers in the defense industrial base are being asked to meet increasingly complex requirements without access to the tools they need to succeed,” Glass said. “The defense industrial base is only as strong as its weakest supplier and my biggest fear is suppliers will opt out of defense work altogether. We also need to lower the barriers to entry for new companies.”
Glass spent 28 years in senior leadership roles spanning supply chain, manufacturing operations, and information technology. During his career at Honeywell, he held multiple leadership positions supporting global supply chain operations and enterprise technology systems, helping drive digital transformation initiatives across hundreds of manufacturing facilities worldwide.
Later, as Vice President of Supply Chain at Newport News Shipbuilding, the nation’s sole builder of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and one of only two builders of nuclear submarines, he managed relationships with more than 2,000 suppliers supporting some of the country’s most critical defense programs.
The experience gave him a unique perspective on the growing strain across the defense supply chain.
While defense programs continue to increase in complexity and their products are needed in the hands of our service men and women more urgently, many suppliers still rely on spreadsheets, disconnected systems, and institutional knowledge to manage critical operations. Capacity planning is often based on experience and “gut feel” rather than real-time operational visibility. Quality records may be fragmented across multiple systems, and cybersecurity compliance requirements continue to create significant burdens for small and mid-sized manufacturers.
Together, these challenges are shrinking the defense supplier base and making it harder for new manufacturers to enter the defense market.
“That’s why I started Strong Chain,” Glass said. “We’ve built defense industry specific applications to help small and mid-sized suppliers accelerate their compliance with cybersecurity requirements while improving throughput, production planning, and quality management through tools like our Capacity and Scenario Planner and Quality Management System.”
Glass believes the issue is not a lack of capability within the supplier base.
“These companies know how to manufacture. They know how to solve hard problems,” he said. “What they’ve often lacked are affordable, practical tools built specifically for the realities of defense manufacturing.”
Founded in 2025, Strong Chain LLC focuses on providing software applications that improve operational visibility, strengthen compliance readiness, and help manufacturers better manage production risk.
The platform centers on three critical areas: cybersecurity compliance, quality management, and production capacity planning. The applications are designed to be practical, accessible, and affordable for smaller manufacturers that often lack large internal IT or compliance teams.
For Glass, however, the broader mission extends beyond software.
He believes the defense industrial base needs stronger digital infrastructure at every tier of the supply chain. Prime contractors and government agencies depend on thousands of specialized suppliers, many of whom serve as sole-source providers for critical components. When even one supplier struggles, entire programs can feel the impact.
“Most people think about ships, submarines, aircraft, and weapons systems when they think about national defense,” Glass said. “What they don’t always see are the thousands of small manufacturers behind those programs. If we want a stronger defense industrial base, we need to help those companies become more capable, more resilient, and more competitive.”
Glass believes the long-term strength of the defense industrial base will depend not only on government investment or program funding, but on whether suppliers at every level have the operational visibility and digital tools needed to execute effectively.
“The United States has extraordinary manufacturing talent throughout its supply base,” he said. “Our goal is simple: help those companies succeed.”
Because ultimately, the strength of the defense industrial base depends on the strength of the supply chain behind it.
