The greatest challenge that could harm domestic defense capabilities is the demographics of the workforce. Only 39 percent of the current workforce is under the age of 45. And while jobs in the aerospace and defense sectors are seen positively by the majority of young professionals, only 1.5 percent of 25- to 34-year-olds in the U.S. have a science degree.

Taken together, the challenge is obvious to the authors of the report: Aerospace and defense companies are "faced with a shortage of qualified workers to meet current demands as well as needing to integrate a younger workforce with the 'right skills, aptitude, experience, and interest to step into the jobs vacated by senior-level engineers and skilled technicians' as they exit the workforce."
...
According to the Pentagon, the biggest risk for the aerospace sector is its ability to "sustain the design and manufacturing skills and capabilities needed for future aircraft design and manufacture." Specifically, the authors of the report are concerned that "foreign dependency, single or sole sources, and financial viability continue presenting a risk for the aircraft" puts lower-tier suppliers at risk in the defense and aerospace sector.

For the ground vehicle sector, the Pentagon is concerned that a lack of innovation over the last decade has led to stagnation, and hence "any new combat vehicle design will face cost, schedule, and performance challenges." And notably, the authors warn that around the world, combat vehicles are slowly approaching parity with the U.S. at a time that "the lack of new development programs for tracked systems is challenging the U.S. ability to innovate in this subsector."

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