Jane Edwards
Rep. Anthony Brown (D-Md.) has announced plans to launch a local consortium that aims to connect small and large defense and aerospace companies to educational institutions to address workforce shortages and other challenges facing the defense sector.
The Maryland Defense and Aerospace Consortium is scheduled to hold its first meeting on Tuesday at Capitol Hill, Brown’s office said in a news release published Monday.
Army Undersecretary Ryan McCarthy is expected to attend the meeting.
Brown’s office expects the consortium to hold workshops on data security for small companies that face difficulties in meeting government requirements.
“Big firms say, hey, we have a pretty good handle on how to be resilient and how to defend breaches in our systems, but our bigger concern is small companies in our supply chain, because it’s expensive and cumbersome,†Brown said.
The new consortium comes after the Trump administration issued a report that identified weaknesses in the defense industrial base.
