The ARM Institute has been awarded nearly $90 million to lead 10 projects aimed at modernizing military manufacturing facilities across the United States, the institute said Sept. 3.
The funding comes through an Organic Industrial Base (OIB) Modernization Challenge issued earlier this year by the Office of the Under Secretary of War Manufacturing Technology Office (OSW ManTech) to the nation’s Manufacturing Innovation Institutes.
“This funding award recognizes not only the leadership role the ARM Institute plays in modernizing manufacturing, but the key role our member consortium plays in these efforts,” said Jorgen Pedersen, ARM Institute chief executive officer. “We are honored to work on this important initiative for our nation and we congratulate our members on the role they will play in this historic effort to modernize the Organic Industrial Base.”
Fifteen ARM Institute member organizations will work on the projects, which are expected to produce working solutions within two years for automation and modernization challenges at 12 military manufacturing sites.
The U.S. Organic Industrial Base is a network of arsenals, depots, and ammunition plants that build and maintain military equipment. The U.S. Department of Defense is pursuing modernization of the facilities through technologies including robotics and physical artificial intelligence (AI).
The projects selected through the challenge will address a range of manufacturing problems, including improving safety in energetics production, using AI to increase manufacturing quality, using drones to accelerate mission readiness, and deploying robotics to eliminate production bottlenecks. The projects will address challenges affecting each branch of the military, the institute said.
The effort also includes workforce training. Each project will have a workforce-readiness component led by the ARM Institute and its workforce partners. The work will identify the skills employees need to operate the new systems and, when necessary, develop ways to train existing workers or recruit additional workers.
Lisa Masciantonio, ARM Institute chief workforce officer, said the workforce component will be essential as new technologies are introduced.
“Innovation cannot exist in a vacuum. A skilled workforce is needed to support these technologies,” said Masciantonio. “We are thrilled that the Department of War recognizes the importance of the human workforce. We look forward to working with OIB sites across the nation to not only upgrade their technologies but also ensure that their workforce is ready for the forthcoming improvements to their operations.”