Defense Production Act Title III Expansion of Domestic Production Capability and Capacity | FA8650 19 S 5010

Opportunity Information: Apply for FA8650 19 S 5010

The Defense Production Act (DPA) Title III Expansion of Domestic Production Capability and Capacity opportunity is a U.S. Department of Defense grant-style funding announcement run through the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). It is designed to strengthen the United States industrial base by expanding, modernizing, or otherwise improving domestic production capability and production capacity in areas that matter to national defense. In practical terms, the program targets situations where a material, component, technology, or industrial process is important for defense needs but the current U.S. supply chain is too small, too fragile, too dependent on foreign sources, or unable to scale quickly enough in a crisis. The Title III approach is commonly used to reduce supply chain risk, increase surge capacity, and ensure the U.S. can reliably produce critical items at home.

This announcement is labeled a Hybrid Funding Opportunity Announcement, which typically signals flexibility in how projects are structured and awarded, and may include a range of project types under one umbrella announcement. The funding instrument is a cooperative agreement, meaning the government expects to have substantial involvement during the project rather than simply issuing funds and stepping back. Cooperative agreements often include more active collaboration, ongoing technical or programmatic coordination, and milestone-based monitoring, which fits Title III efforts where the government may need to guide performance objectives tied to industrial readiness and national security outcomes.

The opportunity sits in the Science and Technology and other Research and Development activity category. Even though Title III efforts can include manufacturing scale-up and industrialization work that looks like production rather than laboratory research, these projects are often tied to applied R&D, process development, qualification, testing, and the transition of technology into a production environment. The CFDA (assistance listing) numbers associated with this opportunity are 12.777 and 12.800, which are Department of Defense assistance listings used for certain research, development, and related support efforts.

Eligibility is listed as unrestricted, meaning it is broadly open to any type of applicant entity, with the caveat that applicants must still follow any specific eligibility conditions described in the announcement text under the "Additional Information on Eligibility" section. In practice, that typically means a wide range of potential applicants could participate, including private companies (both large and small), universities, nonprofit organizations, consortia, or other qualified entities, as long as they can meet program requirements, security or compliance needs (if any), and demonstrate the capability to execute an industrial or technology transition effort. Title III projects also frequently involve teams, suppliers, and partners because the goal is to strengthen an end-to-end domestic production pathway rather than support a single isolated activity.

The opportunity number is FA8650 19 S 5010. It was created on July 12, 2019, and the original closing date is listed as July 12, 2024, indicating a long open period that is consistent with umbrella or rolling announcements where awards can be made over time as needs are identified and proposals are evaluated. The listing indicates an expected number of awards of 2, which suggests only a small number of projects were anticipated under this announcement or that awards were expected to be large and strategic rather than numerous and small.

The award ceiling is shown as 0, which typically means the posting does not specify a maximum award size in the public summary field. That does not necessarily mean awards have no limit; rather, it usually indicates that the ceiling varies by project, is determined during negotiation, depends on available funding, or is spelled out elsewhere in the full announcement and related attachments. Title III efforts can range widely in size depending on the scale of capacity expansion, the capital equipment required, facility upgrades, qualification and certification costs, and the breadth of the supply chain effort.

Overall, this grant opportunity is best understood as a Department of Defense mechanism to invest in domestic industrial capability where defense needs require reliable U.S.-based production. It uses cooperative agreements to support projects that can move critical technologies and manufacturing processes from limited capability into sustainable, scalable domestic production, improving readiness and reducing dependence on vulnerable supply chains.

• The Department of Defense, Air Force -- Research Lab in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Defense Production Act Title III Expansion of Domestic Production Capability and Capacity" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 12.777, 12.800.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jul 12, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 12, 2024. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 2 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.

Apply for FA8650 19 S 5010

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