The ARM (Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing) Institute reports that it is a partner with two new Defense Manufacturing Communities recently awarded funding by the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation (OLDCC) within the Department of Defense. The ARM Institute is the nation’s leading collaborative in robotics and workforce innovation, working at the confluence of industry, government, and academia.
Structured as a public-private partnership, the ARM Institute and its nearly 400 member organizations catalyze robotic technologies and education solutions to strengthen the U.S. industrial base, protect our warfighters, and secure national manufacturing resiliency.
The Defense Manufacturing Community Support Program (DMCSP) is designed to support long-term community investments that strengthen national security innovation and expand the capabilities of the defense manufacturing industrial ecosystem. The DMCSP is authorized under Section 846 of the Fiscal Year 2019 National Defense Authorization Act, which enabled the Secretary of Defense to establish a program to designate and support consortiums as defense manufacturing communities to strengthen the national security industrial base. This program was developed in coordination with the Assistant Secretary of Defense, Industrial Base Policy (formerly known as Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Policy) and the Under Secretary of Defense, Research and Engineering.
The ARM Institute will help meet the goals of these new Defense Manufacturing Communities:
Applicant: The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
Consortium: The America’s Additive Foundry Consortium
State: Texas
Focus: Castings and forgings, digital manufacturing
Grant of $5,000,000 awarded to the America’s Additive Foundry Consortium to undertake a $7,526,385 project to secure a U.S. supply of tactical alloys through additive, hybrid, and intelligent manufacturing to address casting and forging supply chain issues facing the U.S. military. This group will work towards this goal by developing and providing technical support for novel materials and processes, offering certificate/training programs, and serving as a regional tech demonstration hub. For this grant, the ARM Institute will be endorsing four robotics programs around Southern Texas through the Robotics Career Endorsement program, which is designed to raise awareness of effective local robotics programs.
Applicant: The Manufacturers’ Association
Consortium: The Central Pennsylvania Defense Shipbuilding Talent and Innovation Defense Ecosystem (TIDE)
State: Pennsylvania
Focus: Shipbuilding
Grant of $4,908,960 to the Central Pennsylvania Defense Shipbuilding Talent and Innovation Defense Ecosystem to undertake a $6,137,444 project to support the U.S. Navy’s national security goal of increasing production from one to three submarines annually. This group will work towards this goal by supporting a sustainable pipeline of skilled defense specific talent and increasing adoption of production automation by the submarine industrial base. As part of this grant, the ARM Institute will be leveraging robotics and de-risking training previously developed for the Rhode Island DMC and delivering it to universities, nonprofits, and employers twice per year for three years in the target area.
“The Manufacturers’ Association partnership with the ARM Institute under the TIDE project will enhance our ability to support the defense industrial base need to deploy and adopt robotics and automation technologies that strengthen our national security”, stated Tom Palisin, Executive Director of the Manufacturer’s Association.
The ARM Institute is now a partner with eleven (11) DMCs throughout the United States from twenty-three (23) that have been awarded or selected to date. In addition to the aforementioned communities, the ARM Institute works with:
1. The Artificial Intelligence in Metals and Manufacturing Consortium (AIM Higher Consortium in PA/WV/OH)
2. The Utah Defense Manufacturing Community
3. The Ohio Defense Manufacturing Community
4. The Alabama Defense Advanced Manufacturing Community
5. Wichita State University National Institute for Aviation Research-led Defense Manufacturing Community Consortia
6. North Carolina State University Industry Expansion Solutions-led Defense Manufacturing Consortia
7. Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station-led Defense Manufacturing Community Consortia
8. The Rhode Island Manufacturing to Accelerate the Defense Ecosystem
9. The New Jersey Defense Manufacturing Community
“Our inclusion in almost 50% of Defense Manufacturing Communities highlights the importance of workforce development strategies and robotic and artificial intelligence technologies throughout the nation”, stated Lisa Masciantonio, ARM Institute Chief Workforce Officer.
“We look forward to working with these two new Defense Manufacturing Communities to continue to strengthen and grow the U.S. industrial base and support the warfighter.”