LIFT, in Detroit’s Corktown neighborhood, has announced the kickoff of three programs totaling nearly $40 million in project value.
The programs are designed to modernize the Organic Industrial Base (OIB) for the Department of War across the country. LIFT, or the Lightweight Innovations for Tomorrow, is a nonprofit private-public partnership.
The Department of War (DoW) owns and maintains a network of industrial facilities that produce equipment and material for the warfighter, known as the OIB network. The OIB produces and sustains existing supply chains for military technology and non-consumer goods such as energetics and large munitions.
According to the DoW, equipment and processes at these facilities are often outdated and poorly integrated, and are generally considered “last generation” capabilities, hampering the ability to consistently conduct production operations with efficiency and repeatable quality.
Earlier this year, The Office of the Secretary of War Manufacturing Technology Program issued a call for proposals for its OIB Modernization project portfolio, and LIFT was selected to lead the following programs:
- Improving Quality and Reducing Scrap in Firing Band Production: Pilot an automated Plasma Arc Welding Directed Energy Deposition (PAW‑DED) line to replace MIG welding for 155mm firing bands, with in‑process monitoring to reduce scrap and QA losses and enable future alloy and graded composition options.
- Catch Basin Waste Automation: Design and deploy automated explosive contaminated catch basin waste removal systems to reduce operator exposure while maintaining safety and environmental compliance.
- Multi-Site OIB Workforce Modernization: Develop a repeatable workforce‑first modernization model tied to LIFT’s Operation Next advanced manufacturing adult certification program, and regional training, mapping incumbent workers into future state roles across multiple OIB facilities, including Pine Bluff Arsenal in Arkansas, Iowa Army Ammunition Plan, and Marine Corps Logistics Base in Georgia.
“These programs position LIFT and our network to help modernize the nation’s Organic Industrial Base so it can provide our warfighters with technology and keep them safe to defend the homeland,” says Nigel Francis, CEO and executive director at LIFT.
Each of the LIFT programs are expected to be completed in 24 months.
For more information on LIFT, visit lift.technology/.
