America Makes, the U.S. national additive manufacturing innovation institute, and theNational Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining(NCDMM) have announced two new project calls totaling more than $35 million in funding. Released on March 5, 2026, the Manufacturing Technology Office (OSD ManTech) within the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering’sManufacturing Technology Office (OSD ManTech)and aim to strengthen the U.S. Defense Industrial Base (DIB) through additive manufacturing and advanced manufacturing technologies.
The first initiative, the 2026Department of Defense(DoD)Organic Industrial Base (OIB) Modernization Challenge, focuses on advancing additive manufacturing and related technologies to modernize defense manufacturing operations. Typical awards are expected to range between $10 million and $15 million, with larger proposals of up to $25 million considered with sufficient justification.
According to the organizers, the challenge targets key manufacturing gaps across the OIB, including digital operations technology, AI-enabled robotic process planning, real-time process monitoring, in-situ quality inspection, and automation systems designed to reduce operator exposure to hazards. Additional areas include reducing operational costs, establishing pilot lines for emerging military products, and developing mobile or large-surface automation solutions.
Modernizing defense manufacturing operations
“Modernizing the organic industrial base is a readiness imperative,” said John Martin, Additive Manufacturing Research Director at America Makes. “Through this project, we’re hardwiring shopfloor improvements and additive manufacturing into daily production to drive measurable reductions in cost per pound of material, while boosting throughput, quality, and resilience. By making AM a core requirement for submissions, we turn fragmented innovation into award-winning capabilities that scale across depots and arsenals.”
Proposed projects are expected to deliver actionable insights that reduce technical and industrial risk while enabling practical transition pathways for adoption within defense manufacturing operations.
The OIB Modernization Challenge includes nine technical topic areas: digital operations technology, real-time manufacturing sensors for robotics, AI robotic process planning, in-situ quality checks, reduced operator exposure, reduced cost of operations, pilot lines for non-traditional OIB products, mobile and large-surface automation, and other additive manufacturing technologies or processes.
The second initiative, Joint Additive Qualification for Sustainment – Supplier Qualification (JAQS-SQ) Groups 2 and 3, provides $10.5 million in funding to support the qualification of additive manufacturing suppliers. The program focuses on developing unified requirements and training for suppliers operating laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) and directed energy deposition (DED) systems.
Up to 30 awards are expected through the JAQS-SQ call. The program builds on earlier efforts to standardize additive manufacturing training and auditing procedures while accelerating the onboarding of non-traditional vendors into defense manufacturing supply networks.
Training for the program will be developed in collaboration with Wichita State University’s National Institute for Aviation Research (WSU-NIAR). The curriculum is intended for production and engineering operations managers and will focus on implementing process control documentation and qualification procedures for additive manufacturing systems.
Source: 3D Printing Industry
