Advanced Functional Fabrics of America Manufacturing Innovation Institute

Credit: Courtesy | Date Taken: 04/19/2024
The DoD MIIs seek to revitalize the U.S.’s domestic manufacturing capability through domestic public-private partnerships that enhance America’s strategic competitiveness while enabling the military of tomorrow. This is achieved through three primary activities hosted by the institutes: - Advancing research and development (R&D) to promote American innovation while modernizing our military capabilities - Growing manufacturing ecosystems to enhance the Nation’s competitiveness - Furthering education and workforce development to train Americans of all ages and backgrounds for jobs of the future The ability of the military to respond to an emergency depends on our Nation’s ability to produce needed parts and systems, healthy and secure supply chains, and a skilled U.S. workforce. AFFOA’s vision is a globally competitive, domestic supply chain in advanced fibers and fabrics. The institute delivers breakthrough capabilities and innovations for national security through de-risking university technologies, non-traditional defense contractor participation, and the development of advanced textile systems. AFFOA centralizes the revolutionary fiber and fabric technology capabilities of startups, manufacturers, industry and academia and organizes them to produce and manufacture advanced textile systems for DoD and commercial markets. AFFOA addresses the spectrum of manufacturing challenges associated with developing and scaling advanced fibers and textiles from design through pilot production, helping to transition innovative technologies, and training the next generation manufacturing workforce. The institute’s Fabric Innovation Network (FIN) of member companies enables the development and commercialization of textile products that can see, hear, sense, communicate, store energy, regulate temperature, monitor health, and change color while delivering the conventional qualities of fabrics to benefit the commercial consumer and warfighter.