The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) last week launched its Blue Manufacturing marketplace initiative, an effort to create a catalog of vetted and trusted suppliers of advanced commercial technologies that are becoming increasingly important to the defense supply chain.
Blue Manufacturing was first announced in August 2024 to mirror DIU’s existing programs that vet commercial providers of drones and related components for cybersecurity and ownership interests (Defense Daily, Aug. 8, 2024). The overarching goal is to have a stronger, and trusted supply chain to scale advanced technologies used in defense manufacturing.
DIU will assess applicants for cyber concerns, adversarial capital supply chain risk, and other factors. The initial marketplace seeks trusted manufacturers in six categories, which are parts production for large and small-format metal additive, parts production for composite or ceramic additive, parts production for automated metal machining and forming, automated and advanced post-processing, and 3D-printed tooling.
Additional areas of interest in advanced manufacturing are expected in the coming year, DIU said.
DIU Director Doug Beck said commercial providers of these technologies are looking for markets to expand into, including national security.
“The Blue Manufacturing Initiative will focus on pairing the very best hardware and software manufacturers in defense technology with the very best advanced manufacturing providers to help both strategically critical industries to scale,” Beck said April 3 in a statement.
The Pentagon’s innovation arm has created a portal for submissions.