United States manufacturing and innovation are essential to American economic and national security.  Maintaining U.S. influence and access to markets in a stable global environment contributes to our prosperity and standard of living.  It is the responsibility of the Department of Defense (DoD) to innovate and equip our forces with the best tools possible, made by Americans.  The DoD Manufacturing Technology (ManTech) enterprise attempts to utilize advanced manufacturing to secure a more lethal force, strengthen alliances and new partnerships, and reform the Department for greater performance and affordability. 

The mission of the program is to reduce the acquisition and supportability costs of defense weapon systems and reduce manufacturing and repair cycle times across the life cycles of such systems.

The vision of the program is a responsive world-class manufacturing capability to affordably and rapidly meet Warfighter needs throughout the defense system life cycle.

 
Although DoD ManTech has a singular mission and shared strategic vision, all of the projects and initiatives are selected and executed through the Military Services and DoD Agencies.  Each Component has its own ManTech program, with organization-specific processes, mandates, and procedures for executing their projects:
 

• Army ManTech Program is executed through the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology (ASA(ALT)) with support from the science and technology (S&T) community, Program Executive Offices, and Army Organic Industrial Base;
• Navy ManTech Program is managed under the Office of Naval Research and is executed through the Navy ManTech Centers of Excellence;
• Air Force ManTech Program is managed by the Air Force Research Laboratory’s (AFRL) Materials & Manufacturing Directorate and partners with industry, other government agencies, and academia;
• DLA Research and Development (R&D) is managed under Defense Logistics Agency J6 Chief Information Operations and has a multi-faceted approach to promote R&D business solutions to industry, academia, and small business by awarding multi-year competitive awards, posting Broad Agency Announcements (BAA), leveraging Other Transaction Authority (OTAs) and teaming with the ManTech Service Components and whole of government partners for cost share and savings; and
• OSD MSTP utilizes annual proposal calls based on predetermined, joint-application investment areas.  Because OSD MSTP is executed through OSD ManTech Office within the Office of Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD(R&E)), the program also seeks to leverage and collaborate with the DoD MIIs whenever possible.

The directors and senior managers of these programs coordinate through the auspices of the Joint Defense Manufacturing Technology Panel (JDMTP).  The JDMTP is chartered to identify and integrate requirements, conduct joint program planning, and develop joint strategies.  DoD oversight of the ManTech Programs is provided by the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering.

The 2022 DoD ManTech Program Strategic Plan focuses on four thrust areas for the next five years.  It provides the basis for the coordination of DoD Service and Agency ManTech efforts and provides plans to our stakeholders, other government entities, industry, and academia. 
 
Guided by nine goals under the four thrust areas, the DoD ManTech enterprise focuses on delivering high-priority solutions across the portfolio of manufacturing technology investments to meet defense manufacturing needs: 
 
Thrust Area 1:  Advance Manufacturing Technology

• Goal 1.1:  Identify and prioritize manufacturing technology or capability gaps to meet Service and Agency missions
• Goal 1.2:  Advance the state of manufacturing maturity and enhance production and sustainment

Thrust Area 2:  Strengthen Joint Planning and Coordination

• Goal 2.1:  Define national needs and technology imperatives
• Goal 2.2:  Identify and prioritize multi-Service or -Agency DoD manufacturing gaps via Joint Manufacturing Planning Initiatives
• Goal 2.3:  Develop tailored management and investment approaches

Thrust Area 3:  Expand Outreach and Communication

• Goal 3.1:  Foster alignment with external stakeholders to address manufacturing gaps and bolster supply chain resiliency
• Goal 3.2:  Disseminate program results throughout the industrial base to enable transition

Thrust Area 4:  Educate and Develop Manufacturing Workforce

• Goal 4.1:  Identify current and future education and workforce requirements for the DoD organic and industrial base
• Goal 4.2:  Strengthen the educational pipeline and develop a next-generation manufacturing workforce

DoD ManTech employs an array of management tools, measures, and metrics to guide the program and ensure results.  In short, this strategic plan explains how the DoD ManTech Program enables swift technology transition from concept to successful fielding.