Biotechnology for Materials - Advanced Research

Biotechnology for Materials - Advanced Research is a research and development initiative under the Army's Advanced Technology Development budget activity. The program aims to mature and demonstrate novel biotechnological methods, processes, and materials to enhance military supply chain resilience. It focuses on leveraging bio-industrial manufacturing to ensure critical domestic supply chain resilience for defense needs through domestic production of raw materials and critical products. The program collaborates with Joint Service partners and select allied partners to support a robust pipeline for biotechnology-related manufacturing. Additionally, it aims to provide bio-engineered and biosynthetic materials to ensure domestic sourcing of critical products in the defense supply chain.

Project CP7 under Program PE 0603386A, titled Biotechnology Demonstration and Evaluation, collaborates with Joint Service partners to mature, optimize, and demonstrate novel biotechnologies and related methods to establish a domestic resilient supply chain for defense needs. The project focuses on validating and providing bio-derived, bio-functionalized, and bio-manufactured materials. It also aims to enhance material performance and exploit biotechnologies to provide drop-in replacements and materials with enhanced properties for defense applications. The project's planned programs include optimizing bio-manufacturing methods, demonstrating the production of materials for defense needs at reduced cost compared to commercial sources, and developing new biomanufacturing platform strains utilizing robotics for semi-autonomous capabilities.

These initiatives are consistent with the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering priority focus areas and the Army Modernization Strategy. They are performed by the United States Army Futures Command as part of efforts to advance disruptive breakthrough capabilities in biotechnology for defense applications.