RIGHT SPEAK: If We Cut the Tomahawk Missiles ..THEN WHAT?

As the Pentagon throttles back on weapons spending, it is confronting a delicate question: Will its contractors be able to supply those arms quickly if it needs them again?

Since the Navy in January proposed ending production of new Tomahawk cruise missiles in 2017, manufacturer Raytheon Co. and its allies have peppered Congress with warnings that the move will do lasting damage to the industry supply chain that will be difficult—and costly—to reverse.

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The Navy currently has a stockpile of about 3,000 of the most advanced Tactical Tomahawks, which have a shelf life of 30 years. In peace time, the Navy fires around 100 a year for testing, though when conflicts arise that number shoots up quickly: almost 300 Tomahawks were fired during the Gulf War in 1991, and more than 150 during the 12-day campaign to oust Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's government in 2011. All told, 2,300 have been fired in combat.

The Tomahawk's fate reflects a wider debate about preserving the defense industrial base that had prompted warnings—from makers of armored vehicles, tanks, aircraft carriers and other weapons—about the impact of halting production or delaying procurement for prolonged periods.

The Navy proposes to start in late 2019 upgrading the existing stock of Tomahawks with advanced features such as new sensors for the 20-foot-long missile, which is launched from ships or submarines and can fly at low altitudes, hugging terrain for 1,000 miles at more than 500 miles an hour.

"When you add the Tomahawks that we plan to buy in 2015, it will carry us through any eventuality that we could foresee," Navy Secretary Ray Mabus told the Senate Armed Services Committee in March.

But Raytheon contends that halting its Tomahawk production line in Tucson, Ariz., ahead of the 2019 upgrades would drive some suppliers out of business, and push engineers to other sectors, eroding the military's ability to field an important weapon. The company sent the Pentagon a list of a dozen companies that Raytheon executives believe could close or be forced to leave the defense sector, according to people familiar with the situation.