The SBA and Department of War have launched the Smaller War Plants Commission, a new effort to strengthen America’s defense industrial base by expanding access to capital, contracting opportunities and support for the small businesses critical to our national security.
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and Department of War (DoW) announced a new initiative Aug. 25 to strengthen America’s defense industrial base by expanding support for the small businesses that manufacture, supply and innovate critical defense technologies and components.
The newly established Smaller War Plants Commission (SWPC) will serve as a central coordinating body focused on expanding domestic production capacity, increasing access to capital, reducing regulatory barriers and connecting small businesses with federal contracting and investment opportunities. According to SBA, small businesses comprise more than 70 percent of the nation’s defense industrial base.
The Commission draws its name from the Smaller War Plants Corporation, a World War II-era predecessor to SBA that helped small businesses secure financing, government contracts, and technical assistance to support essential military production.
Under the new initiative, SBA and DoW will work to identify critical gaps in the defense supply chain and prioritize support for small businesses operating in key sectors, including munitions and components, drones, microelectronics, critical minerals, shipbuilding, sensors, batteries, castings and forgings, and textiles.
The effort will also expand access to SBA financing tools. Eligible small manufacturers will be able to utilize SBA’s Made in America Loan Guarantee through its International Trade Loan program, which provides up to a 90 percent federal guarantee for qualifying investments in equipment, facilities, inventory, acquisitions and domestic production capacity.
For small businesses already serving or looking to enter the defense marketplace, the initiative could create new opportunities to scale operations, secure financing and compete for federal contracts while helping address longstanding supply-chain vulnerabilities.
NSBA supports efforts that strengthen the role of small businesses in America’s national security and manufacturing infrastructure. Ensuring small businesses have access to capital, contracting opportunities and a regulatory environment that allows them to grow will be critical to building a more resilient and competitive domestic defense industrial base.
The Smaller War Plants Commission puts small businesses at the center of a renewed federal effort to expand America’s defense manufacturing capacity, with a particular focus on capital access, contracting opportunities and removing barriers to growth.
NSBA will continue monitoring this matter.