THE INDUSTRIAL BASE


to remaining viable and sustainable. Not only does this limit or threaten DOD’s current and future procurement activities, it all but eliminates the possibility for manufacturing advanced fiber- and fabric-based technologies.


While automation will certainly help to shore up elements of the textile value chain, the gains to be made in traditional textiles may be limited because of the significant losses to global compet- itors through the last three decades. A solution may be to leverage U.S. innovation by creating a new textile paradigm based on microelectronics and advanced materials that could provide oper- ational advantages to warfighters, and new commercial consumer markets.


Examples on the DOD side might include Soldier-worn sensors, unmanned aerial vehicles with communication or detection components built into their structural elements, and materi- als that change shape or appearance based on environmental or physical conditions. Commercial applications could include such things as patient-monitoring technologies for hospitals, monitoring and recording systems built into the panels on new lightweight vehicles, or adaptive insulation and moisture control for construction applications.


Additionally, a new high-tech workforce will be required to support building the infrastructure and operating automated textile manufacturing facilities. Advanced skills will be needed for textile manufacturing, finishing, programming digital machine interfaces and managing intelligent-sourcing decisions in more complex, higher value textile supply chains.


MATERIAL DIFFERENCES


Advanced manufacturing techniques can introduce technology into fabrics, like this swatch with integrated LED fibers. AFFOA’s product development team continuously innovates around incorporating fiber technology seamlessly into fabrics.


Future Soldier systems objectives include lightening the Soldier’s load, capitalizing on lessons learned after years of fighting, and developing modular, agile materiel solutions that take advan- tage of advances in sensor technology and materials engineering.


CHANGING THE PLAYING FIELD At the materiel level, the equipment used in most fabric manufac- turing and cut and sew operations has not changed substantially in over a century. Tese machines are highly manpower-inten- sive, not upgradable and ill-suited for incorporation of eTextiles, smart materials or other next-generation technologies. Most of the mills and factories, particularly in the DOD supply chain, oper- ate on extremely tight margins that rarely offer them the ability to innovate or upgrade existing equipment, both of which are critical


To achieve these ends, the Army needs access to a skilled work- force and modernized industrial base capable of achieving advanced designs and developing novel industrial capabilities. Substantively enhancing the capabilities of the domestic textile industrial base is a major challenge. Trough the Textile Auto- mation to Enhance Domestic Military Production program, the OSD IBAS office is combining its manufacturing base expertise with the product knowledge and buying power of PM SCIE and the technical acumen of CCDC-SC.


Working together with forward-leaning industry partners, the program team expects to begin affecting change toward a more


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