DEFENSE
Advanced material and manufacturing to ensure military readiness
The future of the US Defense Industry depends on three key strategic goals: (1) Cyber Advancements, (2) Secure Manufacturing, and (3) Systems Innovation. To accomplish these objectives, the defense industry will continue leveraging commercial advancements and develop/design paradigms in order to rapidly innovate in an increasingly competitive global climate. With the overarching goal of achieving Multi-Domain Command and Control (across Land, Sea, Space, Air, and Cyber), the defense industry will continue investing in technology solutions and innovations that drive advancements across all domains to create a more continuous defense ecosystem capable of responding quickly and effectively to wide-ranging threats against everything from the supply base to the modern warfighter.
Connected and secured supply chains for advanced manufacturing are critical to defense success
The defense industry recognizes that commercial software, connected devices, manufacturing technologies, and innovation platforms have rapidly outpaced the defense sector in the last 20 years. As Industry 4.0 and manufacturing connectivity become increasingly critical to defense, the cyber threats against the manufacturing industrial base rises as well.
With heavy investments into 3D printing technologies, DoD is looking to secure its manufacturing supply chains domestically reducing both long-lead time items and items with limited sourcing in the United States. Finally, to continue driving innovation at the system level, new materials ranging from wear and protective coatings to fully 3D-printed ballistic-resistant structures will enable next generation designs focused on key modernization priorities.
