America Makes selects projects for US defence manufacturing modernisation challenge
America Makes, Youngstown, Ohio, and the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM) have announced the winners of the 2026 Department of Defense (DoD) Organic Industrial Base (OIB) Modernization Challenge, with awards typically ranging from $10 million to $15 million. The challenge is funded by the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense, Manufacturing Technology Office (OSD ManTech).
The challenge, launched earlier this year in cooperation with other Manufacturing Innovation Institutes (MIIs), focuses on advancing Additive Manufacturing and related technologies to support the modernisation of defence manufacturing.
The challenge targets AM and advanced manufacturing needs across the OIB, including digital operations technology, AI robotic process planning, in situ quality checks, reduced operator exposure to hazards, reduced operating costs, pilot lines for emerging military products, and mobile and large-surface automation. The programme is intended to strengthen the defence industrial base (DIB) and support the DoD’s evolving manufacturing requirements.
“The defence industrial base must continuously meet emerging challenges, and advanced manufacturing is helping make that possible,” stated John Wilczynski, Executive Director of America Makes. “For nearly fifteen years, the Institute has brought together leaders from industry, government, and academia to accelerate the adoption of innovative manufacturing technologies that strengthen US competitiveness, resiliency, and national security.”
“This challenge builds on that foundation by accelerating the transition of those proven technologies into the organic industrial base, where they can improve day-to-day production operations and deliver measurable gains in cost, throughput, quality, and supply chain resilience,” he continued. “By bridging innovation with implementation, we are helping ensure advanced manufacturing capabilities can scale across the industrial base.”
The selected projects are expected to deliver actionable insights that reduce technical and industrial risk while supporting realistic pathways for the transition of advanced manufacturing technologies into OIB facilities. Collectively, the projects are intended to support both DoD requirements and the modernisation of the OIB.
The selected organisations and project titles are:
- Honeywell – Rapid Production of Sand Castings via Additive Manufacturing Technology
- HRL Laboratories LLC – Rapid Qualification of Additive Parts
- Machina Labs – Edge Factories for Production of Low-Cost Weapon Systems
- Accenture Federal Services LLC – Additive Manufacturing Digital Twin & Operations Simulation
- Stratasys Inc – In-Situ Monitoring for Fused Deposition Modeling
- REM Surface Engineering LLC – Advanced Chemical/Chemical Mechanical Polishing Technologies for Additively Manufactured Components within the DoW OIB
