Obama Calls on Manufacturing Industry to Advance Defense Systems
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) recently announced it will invest $1 billion over five years to add defense jobs in the manufacturing industry.
DARPA, the research arm of the Department of Defense, aims to use new technologies to transform the manufacturing process. President Barack Obama highlighted the government initiative on June 24 during an event at Carnegie Mellon University's National Robotics Engineering Center.
Obama said federal agencies will partner with manufacturing industries beginning this summer to work on technologies critical to national security. As an example, the president noted the success of DARPA's Experimental Crowd-derived Combat Support Vehicle (XC2V).
Non-traditional DoD performers, such as small businesses, colleges and the general public, were asked to contribute innovative ideas for the vehicle body design. More than 150 credible designs were submitted and the winning design, the XC2V, took less than 14 weeks to build.
Many individuals who work on top secret defense projects designed to bolster national security are required to have security clearance.