The U.S. defense industrial base is not up to the challenge of building a military capable of deterring China in the Indo–Pacific. The problem is pressing, and with each passing year the extent and immediacy of the problem grows larger. The solution is twofold: The United States must expand the defense industrial base here at home, and it must expand defense industrial base collaboration with its closest allies, with Japan and South Korea at the top of the list licensed for co-production.