Henrico Times

Congressman Rob Wittman and Congresswoman Elise Stefanik have urged the U.S. Air Force to reduce its reliance on Chinese suppliers for critical weapons platforms. This call follows reports indicating a 68.8% increase in the Air Force's use of Chinese suppliers over the past year.

"Despite the Pentagon having identified China as the greatest strategic threat to the United States, the department continues to rely on China for components in critical weapons platforms that are being produced to deter conflict," said Congressman Wittman. "With our Army and Navy both able to decrease their reliance on Chinese suppliers over the past year, it is unacceptable for our Air Force to still rely on 130 Chinese suppliers across 15 critical technology areas. The service branch must do everything it can to reduce this dire threat to U.S. national security."

Congresswoman Stefanik echoed these concerns: "I am proud to work with Congressman Wittman to demand the Air Force address and mitigate the presence of Communist Chinese manufacturers in their supply chains. It is completely unacceptable that the Department of the Air Force has increased their reliance on Communist China for components in our critical weapons and defense platforms."

The lawmakers addressed a letter to Frank Kendall, Secretary of the Air Force, highlighting that continued dependence on Chinese suppliers poses a significant national security risk. They cited Govini’s 2024 National Security Scorecard, which noted that while both the Army and Navy had reduced their reliance on Chinese suppliers, the Department of the Air Force had increased its usage.

The letter outlines specific requests for information by October 7, 2024:

- Identification of supply chains more dependent on Chinese suppliers over the past year.

- The strategy DAF plans to implement to address supply chain vulnerabilities.

- Roadblocks hindering DAF’s strategy from being maximally effective.

In response, an August statement from DAF acknowledged these concerns as serious but did not align with actions taken over the last year.

Wittman and Stefanik's appeal emphasizes an urgent need for strategic changes within DAF’s procurement processes concerning national security implications.

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