Inside the First NSTI Caucus Meeting
On June 9, North Carolina's National Security Technology & Innovation (NSTI) Caucus held its inaugural meeting. The meeting focused on North Carolina’s role in reindustrialization and defense manufacturing. The tone, as the caucus describes itself, was bipartisan, bicameral, and biased for action.
Wade Apple, CFO of MSI Defense Solutions in Mooresville, and John Maslin, CEO & Founder of Vulcan Elements shared their insights as North Carolina-based manufacturers on the opportunities for the state to expand its defense manufacturing base.
Vulcan Elements CEO John Maslin and Chief of Staff Joshua Henderson presented at the first NSTI Caucus meeting.
Two key themes were clear in the discussion: urgency and scale.
America's industrial capacity has atrophied over decades while competitors and adversaries scaled up. China now out-produces the United States in shipbuilding by roughly 230 to 1 and produces about 95 percent of the world's rare earth magnets. Russia out-produces NATO on artillery shells 4 to 1. By some estimates, the U.S. has as little as 2 weeks of key munitions available in the event the U.S. enters a hot war with China. These are the supply chains that may decide whether the U.S. can fight, and win, a large-scale conflict.
The good news is that the U.S. government, our Allies, and private industry are working to close the gap. Federal and private investment in American manufacturing and the defense industrial base is running at a scale not seen since World War II, anchored by a defense budget approaching $1 trillion and growing demand across autonomous systems, advanced materials, and microelectronics. That demand has to be met somewhere. The opportunity for North Carolina is huge. Dollar for dollar, defense is among the highest-return sectors a state can grow.
The question for the caucus was direct: Is North Carolina stepping up?
The honest answer is that North Carolina is underperforming. The state ranks 4th nationally in active-duty service members, but only 20th in defense contracts and 21st in defense-funded R&D.
North Carolina attracts manufacturing operations well. However, we can improve in:
recruiting headquarters;
systematically building the supplier and systems integrator tiers;
developing a technical workforce cleared to support defense contracts (including retaining cleared veterans);
investing in and marketing testing infrastructure; and
building a holistic capital stack — public and private funding alike — that derisks R&D, helps companies scale, and positions them to win defense contracts, ultimately creating durable middle-class jobs.
The group explored seven recommendations for how to close these gaps, create great jobs today and set the stage for long-term growth.
Invest in reliable, cost-competitive power for 24/7 advanced manufacturing.
Build a defense-ready workforce and clearance pipeline, inclusive of K–12, community colleges, universities, and veterans.
Evolve the state's incentive tools to compete for defense work, not just tax breaks.
Streamline permitting.
Stand up an R&D and prototyping bridge fund to cross the "valley of death."
Invest in shared integration and test infrastructure with universities, labs, and nonprofits.
Community matters. Show up for the companies we want to keep and recruit.
The work is shared, and so is the return: national security, good jobs, and a stronger tax base, all moving together. Other states are already leaning in. This is North Carolina's to win.
