Thanks to Dbusiness for this:
More advanced military technology will be coming out of Detroit for the next five years based on a new agreement signed Thursday.
LIFT, the Department of Defense-supported national manufacturing innovation institute located in Detroit’s Corktown neighborhood, announced July 9, 2020 that it has signed an agreement with the U.S. Army to lead new technology programs to enhance mission-effectiveness of materials, components, systems, and supporting platforms in use by the military.
The Other Transactional Agreement between LIFT and the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Ground Vehicle Systems Center (formerly TARDEC and TACOM), located at Detroit Arsenal in Warren, is a 5-year deal.
CCDC GVSC is the USA’s laboratory for advanced military automotive technology.
It is one of 8 science and technology domains in place to “ensure decisive overmatch for unified land operations that empower the Army, the joint warfighter, and the nation,” according to the Army. Its mission is to support Army ground vehicle equipment throughout its lifecycle and research, develop, engineer, leverage, and integrate advanced technology into ground systems.
Under the agreement, LIFT will research materials maturation, product design and manufacturing process improvements, and the development of models to evaluate the feasibility and usefulness of various lightweight materials and manufacturing processes.
R&D will lead to prototypes, directly relevant to enhancing the mission-effectiveness of military personnel and the materials, components, systems and supporting platforms in use by the armed forces.
“Our core mission as an institute is to develop technologies to enhance the effectiveness and better protect the warfighter, and this agreement gives us the opportunity to continue that mission for years,” says Nigel Francis, CEO and executive director of LIFT. “This partnership also continues Michigan’s strong heritage of innovation and manufacturing in support of the Department of Defense.”
LIFT’s technology focus areas include:
Integrated computational materials engineering and computational engineering; advanced alloy and process development; multi-material joining, and applications of additive (3-D printing), metamorphic, and future manufacturing.
Since its founding in 2014, LIFT now has secured more than $174 million in funding for technology and talent development in support of the U.S. industrial and defense manufacturing bases.
In late 2019, LIFT announced the extension of the lease on its 100,000-square-foot Detroit facility. Earlier this year, the institute celebrated its sixth anniversary and announced it extended its original agreement with the Department of Defense.
LIFT Detroit homepage
Detroit, Michigan 48216
