State Partnership Program

Video by Joseph Bara

Kenneth Church, Scipero

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Engineer Research and Development Center

Dec. 6, 2023 | 3:56

Interview of staff member from a Department of Defense Manufacturing Innovation Institutes (MIIs) member company during the Office of the Secretary of Defense Manufacturing Technology Program's (OSD ManTech) Point of Need Challenge held at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center's Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory in Hanover, N.H., Dec. 6, 2023.

Kenneth Church from Department of Defense Manufacturing Innovation Institutes (MIIs) member company Scipero discusses the Office of the Secretary of Defense Manufacturing Technology Program's (OSD ManTech) Point of Need Challenge held at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center's Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory in Hanover, N.H., Dec. 4-8, 2023.

The first-of-its-kind event is designed to find solutions to support forward-deployed forces in austere environments and showcases technologies generated by member companies of the MIIs. DoD launched nine MIIs between 2012 and 2021, each focusing on a particular critical technology, to help revitalize U.S. domestic manufacturing capability.

The projects cover three challenges: the Warfighter Medical, Health and Nutrition Challenge; the Staying in the Fight Challenge; and the Cyber Challenge. OSD ManTech will invest nearly $2.5 million, while industry partners will contribute nearly $700,000 in cost share.