Monday, December 4, 2023
Monday, December 4, 2023
The Pentagon's Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation today announced $30 million in grants split across six different Defense Manufacturing Community Support Programs.
The DMCSP, which invests in long-term critical skills, facilities, workforce development, research and development and small business support, was established by the defense secretary to designate and support consortiums as Defense Manufacturing Communities and strengthen the national security industrial base.
On Aug. 16, the assistant defense secretary for industrial base policy designated six consortia as Defense Manufacturing Communities and instructed the OLDCC to ask them to submit grant applications in response to a DMCSP Notice of Funding Opportunity released on April 24 for the proposal solicitation period.
The awarded amount comes from fiscal year 2023 funds, with an additional $10 million in non-federal funds being added, for a total investment of more than $40 million.
"Delivering capabilities to our warfighters at scale depends on a resilient and robust manufacturing base," said Pentagon acquisition chief Bill LaPlante. "This year's awards will strengthen advanced manufacturing capabilities in defense-critical sectors while cultivating our most important resource: our people. I am confident that the collaboration with public, private and academic partners fostered by the Defense Manufacturing Community Support Program will have a lasting impact not only on our defense industrial base, but on our national security for years to come."
The Michigan Defense Resiliency Consortium will receive nearly $5 million to undertake a $6.3 million project to create the critical foundation for energy storage and battery manufacturing intended to support the Pentagon’s transformation from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles.
The Missouri Defense Manufacturing Community Consortium was awarded nearly $5 million for a nearly $8 million project to train and establish a steady pipeline of engineers and tradespeople skilled in modern digital advanced manufacturing technologies.
The New York Consortium for Space Technology Innovation and Development is set to receive $5 million for a project worth about $6.8 intended to address the need for advanced space technology manufacturing and supply-chain capabilities. This project will be a collaboration of universities, research institutions, industry experts and government agencies throughout New York.
The New York State Microelectronics Defense Manufacturing, Supply Chain and Workforce consortium was also awarded $5 million for a $7.8 million project to strengthen talent pipelines and improve resiliency among local suppliers in the microelectronics industry.
The Central Pennsylvania Defense Shipbuilding Talent and Innovation Defense Ecosystem will receive a nearly $5 million grant for a $6.1 million project to help the Navy try to meet its goal of increasing submarine production from one to three annually through supporting a long-term pipeline of skilled workers and increasing adoption of production automation in the submarine industrial base.
Finally, America’s Additive Foundry Consortium will receive $5 million for a $7.5 million project to address foreign supply chain issues by securing a U.S. supply of tactical alloys through additive, hybrid and intelligent manufacturing.
"These grant awards are focused [on] defense-critical sectors, from battery and energy storage to microelectronics and castings and forgings," said Laura Taylor-Kale, assistant defense secretary for industrial base policy. "These projects highlight the important innovation ecosystem that exists between public, private and academic partners, and DOD looks forward to following the progress on each of these initiatives."