- The Army seeks to establish a new advanced manufacturing research center through a potential $100 million contract
- The new hub would connect research, engineering and technology transition efforts throughout the defense ecosystem
- The solicitation targets universities and affiliated nonprofits with expertise in advanced manufacturing
The Department of the Army has issued a solicitation for a potential $100 million contract to establish an Advanced Manufacturing Applied Research & Technology Development Center, or AdvMARTDC.
What Will the Advanced Manufacturing Research Center Do?
According to a solicitation notice published Tuesday on SAM.gov, the Applied Research Center will serve as a central hub for advanced manufacturing research, development and engineering. The center is intended to unify and coordinate ongoing research efforts by universities and other organizations, ensuring alignment with Department of War and Army strategies.
In addition to coordinating research efforts, the center will work to transition technologies to manufacturing innovation institutes, the organic industrial base, the defense industrial base and Army and joint service stakeholders.
What Capabilities Is the Army Seeking?
The Army is seeking proposals from college and university laboratories and university-affiliated nonprofits with core competencies in advanced manufacturing. Required capabilities include foundational tools, common standards and rapid qualification pathways to enable agile industrial base operations.
Offerors must show expertise in additive manufacturing techniques such as powder bed fusion and directed energy deposition, along with generative design and materials qualification for metals, ceramics, polymers and composites. They must also demonstrate applied research activities that scale technologies such as robotic automation for munitions and artificial intelligence-driven manufacturing methods from laboratory concepts to production lines.
How Is the Contract Structured?
The Army intends to award a single Federal Acquisition Regulation-based indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract with a 12-month base period and four 12-month option periods. The contract will use cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price task orders.
Interested vendors have until July 22 to submit their proposals.
