Federal Announcements

The Department of War announced two Defense Production Act (DPA) Title III awards totaling $33.5 million to expand the solid rocket motor (SRM) industrial base. The awardees are Americarb. Inc. (Americarb) in Niagara Falls, New York and General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems (GD-OTS) in Lincoln, Nebraska. These awards support the agency's objectives to expand the munitions industrial base, bolster supply chain resiliency, and increase domestic production in strategic priority areas.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced it has awarded $1.1 million in grants to three applicant organizations that will provide training and technical assistance to support small manufacturers in the SBA’s Empower to Grow (E2G) Program. These qualified awardees will deliver regional support to small manufacturers in critical industries, in support of the agency’s Made in America Manufacturing Initiative to restore American jobs, industry, and national security.

The Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Science and Technology Policy have outlined in a joint memorandum five Research and Development (R&D) budget priorities for FY2027 to ensure that America maintains its position as the leader in critical and emerging technologies, including AI and quantum information science and technology (S&T). Additional priorities aim to strengthen and uphold America’s leadership in energy, national security, health, biotechnology, and space.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Defense Sciences Office (DSO) is requesting information on existing research or new concepts related to the development of technical solutions that bolster the domestic manufacturing workforce.

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration is awarding a $2.5 million grant to North Baldwin Utilities in Bay Minette, Alabama, for water infrastructure upgrades to support a new aluminum manufacturing facility and create jobs in the region.

The Clean Energy Smart Manufacturing Innovation Institute (CESMII), part of the Manufacturing USA network, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NIST MEP) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) aimed at strengthening the competitiveness of U.S. manufacturers.

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration awarded a $600,000 grant to the Maui Economic Development Board, Inc., in Kīhei, Hawaii, to support advanced manufacturing and increased economic capacity. This grant will support an assessment of the existing advanced manufacturing infrastructure in Maui, the creation of workforce development programs, the promotion of technological innovation, and job creation. This EDA investment will be matched with $150,000 in local funds

The U.S. Department of Commerce and the Semiconductor Research Corporation Manufacturing Consortium Corporation (SRC) are entering negotiations for the Department to provide SRC $285 million to establish and operate a Manufacturing USA institute headquartered in Durham, North Carolina. The new institute, known as SMART USA (Semiconductor Manufacturing and Advanced Research with Twins USA) will focus on efforts to develop, validate, and use digital twins.

The United States and the U.S. Department of Defense, with the help of its industry and academia partners, strive to remain the leader in chip research and design, prototyping, manufacturing and production at scale. Leading this charge is the Microelectronics Commons, which has over 1,200 member organizations, having more than tripled in size, in just 12 months.

For small businesses that may not be able to meet cybersecurity requirements on their own, the Army is planning to launch a pilot program called the Next-Generation Commercial Operations in Defended Enclaves, or NCODE, which essentially provides a cyber-secure enclave in a secure environment for small businesses to participate in where they can collaborate, share information, and do their own work.