Statement attributed to Lt. Col. Mike Andrews, Department of Defense spokesman:
Today the Department is announcing five Defense Production Act Title III actions to help sustain and strengthen essential domestic industrial base capabilities and defense-critical workforce in shipbuilding, aircraft manufacturing, and clothing and textiles. These actions will help to retain critical workforce capabilities throughout the disruption caused by COVID-19 and to restore some jobs lost because of the pandemic. The Department remains closely partnered with FEMA and HHS, providing almost $2.9 billion in life-saving medical services, supplies and equipment to service members and federal agencies in the nation's whole-of-government approach to the coronavirus pandemic.
DoD announces $50 million Defense Production Act Title III Agreement with Austal USA to Strengthen Domestic Shipbuilding Industrial Base
As part of the national response to COVID-19, the Department of Defense entered into a $50 million agreement with Austal USA to maintain, protect, and expand critical domestic shipbuilding and maintenance capacity. These investments will have long-term benefits for U.S. Navy shipbuilding while accelerating pandemic recovery efforts in the Gulf Coast region.
Using funds authorized and appropriated under the CARES Act, this DPA Title III investment will protect jobs and bolster the local economy in a region hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic and ensure critical capabilities are retained in support of U.S. Navy operational readiness.
Austal USA is based in Mobile, Alabama, which is the principal place of performance.
DoD announces $55 million Defense Production Act Title III Agreement with W International to Strengthen Domestic Shipbuilding Industrial Base
As part of the national response to COVID-19, the Department of Defense entered into a $55 million agreement with W International to maintain, protect, and expand critical domestic industrial base capability for the U.S. Navy nuclear shipbuilding industry. These investments will have long-term benefits for Navy shipbuilding while accelerating pandemic recovery efforts in the South East region of the United States.
Using funds authorized and appropriated under the CARES Act, this DPA Title III investment will support capital projects to maintain and support capacity, workflow improvements, and workforce development. These investments will protect jobs in a region hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic and ensure critical capabilities are retained in support of U.S. Navy operational readiness.
W International is located in Goose Creek, South Carolina, which is the principal place of performance.
DoD announces $25 million Defense Production Act Title III Agreement to Strengthen Domestic Aviation Defense Industrial Base
As part of the national response to COVID-19, the Department of Defense (DoD) entered into a $25 million agreement with Weber Metals Inc. to sustain critical domestic industrial base capability and capacity for making of large, open and closed die forgings used in many DoD weapons systems.
Using funds authorized and appropriated under the CARES Act, this DPA Title III investment will expand production capability and capacity to meet vitally important DoD demand and improve associated processes including conversion and core processing in their supply chain. These investments will enable Weber Metals Inc to retain critical workforce capabilities throughout the disruption caused by COVID-19 and to restore jobs lost due to the pandemic.
Weber Inc. is headquartered in Paramount, CA, which is the principal place of performance.
DoD announces $55 million Defense Production Act Title III Agreement to strengthen Domestic Aviation Defense Industrial Base
As part of the national response to COVID-19, the Department of Defense entered a $55 million agreement with GE Aviation to sustain essential aircraft engine component manufacturing capabilities. The purpose of this investment is for the remanufacture of selected critical engine components used on the F110-100/-129 turbofan jet engine and the F118-101 turbofan jet engine. These engines power the F-16 and the U-2 aircraft respectfully.
Using funds authorized and appropriated under the CARES Act, this DPA Title III investment will enable GE and their sub-tier suppliers, including small business, minority owned, women owned and veteran owned businesses to retain/reinstate more than 225 American jobs. It is critical to national defense that GE and their affiliated companies remain viable and working.
Additionally, both the F-16 and the U-2 propulsion systems have future forecasted readiness challenges and the injection of these Title III funds will enable the USAF to avoid that projected shortfall.
GE is a world-leading provider of jet and turboprop engines, components, and integrated systems for commercial, military, business and general aviation aircraft. GE Aviation has a global service network to support the aviation industry with extensive repair capabilities and experienced technicians, which provides the highest level of customer service and world-class performance.
Besides GE some of the affected sub-tier companies and vendors are located in: Grand Prairie, TX; East Granby, CT; Rochester, NY; Cincinnati OH; Bloomfield, CT; Brazil, IN; Asheville, NC; and Ithaca, MI, to name a few locations.
The Department is confident that this effort not only sustains the viability and readiness of current propulsion systems but will also continue to advance leading edge propulsion technologies.
DoD Announces $2 Million Defense Production Act Title III Agreement to Sustain U.S. Domestic Production of Fabric for Army Dress Uniforms
As part of the national response to COVID-19, the Department of Defense entered a $2 million agreement with American Woolen Company to sustain domestic production of poly/wool blend fabric for U.S. Army dress uniforms.
Using funds authorized and appropriated under the CARES Act, this DPA Title III investment will sustain the domestic production capability and capacity of poly/wool blend fabric for Army dress uniforms. The sustainment of this production capability will ensure the U.S. Government gets dedicated long term industrial capacity to meet the needs of the nation.
This investment will leverage American Woolen Company’s manufacturing capabilities to commercialize the Army Green Service Uniform (AGSU) fabrics, enabling the government to diversify the supply chain and add a second source of innovation to the market.
American Woolen Company is a small, women-owned manufacturer of wool and wool/blend fabrics based in Stafford Springs, Connecticut, which is the principal place of performance.
Website resources:
DoD Coronavirus update: https://www.defense.gov/Explore/Spotlight/Coronavirus/
DoD Industrial Policy: https://www.businessdefense.gov/coronavirus/
Joint Acquisition Task Force: https://www.acq.osd.mil/jatf.html
Defense Production Act Title III: https://www.businessdefense.gov/Programs/DPA-Title-III/