Small Business Impact and Challenges for Maturation of the Industrial Supply Base

It has been eleven years since the National Network of Manufacturing Institutes was launched under the Obama Administration.  Sixteen Institutes have been launched, each one working on maturing specific advanced manufacturing technologies.  In the meantime, just this past year, the SBIR and STTR programs have come under attack from Congress and came very close to NOT being continued.  The panel will discuss where are we today with the Defense Industrial Base (“DIB”) in terms of adopting/implementing advanced manufacturing technology and where does the DIB need to focus going forward.