To regain its capacity to effectively deter China and retain its unmatched global status, the United States must deepen its partnership with the nation's most innovative tech companies. In The American Edge, Seth G. Jones explains how the industrial bases of the world's great military powers have risen, fallen, and evolved relative to each other over the past century, from Imperial Germany and Japan during World War II, to the United States and Soviet Union during the Cold War, to the recent rise of China. In doing so, Jones reveals how the US is on a trajectory toward failure-a failure to effectively deter major adversaries, and to fight and win a great power war if necessary. China is on a wartime footing. It is rapidly building its defense industrial base to deter and-if deterrence fails-to fight the United States. During periods of wartime, the US defense industrial base has always needed to maximize production capacity, minimize excessive regulations, and provide incentives to