The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has selected two upstate New York–based projects as finalists for up to a $5 million investment each through its Defense Manufacturing Community Support (DMCS) program.
DoD chose the NYS Microelectronics Defense Manufacturing, Supply Chain, and Workforce (Upstate Defense) Consortium project, along with Cornell University’s New York Consortium for Space Technology Innovation and Development (NYCST), U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D–N.Y.) announced Friday.
Specifically, if selected for investment, “The projects would help train and connect workers to good-paying jobs in microelectronics and aerospace, boost research and innovation in these fields in Upstate NY and strengthen supply chains in high-tech manufacturing vital to our national security,” Schumer said in the announcement.
“From innovation in aerospace technology to the smallest microchips, Upstate NY is leading America in building the workforce of the future critical to our national security and economic prosperity. Now with trailblazing proposals like the Upstate Defense Consortium and Cornell University Space Technology program in the final running for investment through the Department of Defense, we can breathe new life into Upstate NY’s legacy in manufacturing to take us to the next frontier in the technology of the future,” the senator said.
About DMCS
The DoD’s Defense Manufacturing Community Support program is designed to support long-term community investments that strengthen national security innovation and expand the capabilities of the defense manufacturing industrial ecosystem. The program designates and supports consortiums as defense-manufacturing communities to strengthen the national security industrial base.
To qualify for funding through the DMCS program, communities must demonstrate “best practices in attracting and expanding” defense manufacturing by bringing together key local stakeholders and using long-term planning that integrates targeted public and private investments.