Advancing Metal Alloy Systems and Processes for Defense Manufacturing

December 4, 2024

The National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM) is seeking information from industry about how to make innovative new breakthroughs in defense manufacturing materials and processes. (Image: InWay)

The Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), Innovation Capability and Modernization (ICAM) Office, in collaboration with the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM), is currently soliciting technical white papers for a Request for Information (RFI) to explore the development and transition of metallic alloys and manufacturing processes that can enhance the capabilities of current and future defense platforms and weapon systems.

Many current U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) platforms are still built using material systems and manufacturing methods that date back to the pre-Cold War era, limiting their performance potential. Despite advances in material research and processes, these innovations often struggle to make it into weapon systems because of the need for mature material systems and specifications early in the design process. Another challenge is the lack of early-stage funding to bring materials to a Manufacturing Readiness Level (MRL) that aligns with key program milestones.

“For the past generation, most DoD-funded materials development has focused on cost savings and reducing construction timelines,” said Matthew Draper, Technical Director – Metallurgy and Manufacturing, ICAM. “However, in today’s era of renewed global power competition, there’s an urgent need to accelerate the transition of breakthroughs and discoveries into deployable equipment and capabilities.”

The RFI for Accelerated Capability Metals Enterprise (ACME) aims to accelerate the transformation of innovations, inventions, and scientific discoveries into operational equipment and capabilities, specifically seeking to advance the development and transition of new, high-performance metallic alloy systems and associated manufacturing processes with enhanced properties. The request is open to all application domains, including sea, air, land, and space.

White Papers submitted in response to this RFI must outline approaches for developing and implementing materials and processing techniques that enhance the performance and operational readiness of DoD platforms, as outlined in the RFI. White Papers should be structured to address Phase I and II objectives. Phase I proposals must focus on the manufacturing of an article, representative of a casting, forging, plate, or welding/additive consumable for a DoD end-use application. Inclusion of Phase II encompasses the development of first article samples with all associated characterization required to execute a certification event and the associated generation of a material and or process specification.

The ACME RFI Appendices contain Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI). To access the appendices, the submitter must provide a current Defense Logistics Agency certified DD Form 2345 Technical Data Agreement, which can be uploaded on the RFI web page. Upon verification, the submitter will be granted access.

Submitters must indicate how a prototype will be developed and manufactured to address the technical challenges. The prototype must prove the operational practicality and benefits of the proposed material and/or process. At the start of the technical approach, identified technologies must be at least Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 4 or higher and advance to at least TRL 6 by the end of Phase I. The Phase II effort should then progress the work to TRL 8 or higher. Multiple submittals are permissible; however, each submission should only address one specific topic area.

All of the details about the submission process are available here .

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