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America Makes has announced a new funding opportunity to strengthen the U.S. defense supply chain through additive manufacturing (AM). Backed by $1.7 million from the Department of Defense (DoD), the new project is called Joint Additive Qualification for Sustainment – Supplier Qualification (JAQS-SQ). Its goal is to qualify new AM suppliers and enhance training programs to align with government production standards.
The project is designed to address two key issues holding back wider adoption of AM in defense: the lack of strong training and audit programs, and the slow, part-by-part qualification process that limits production efficiency. By supporting up to five awards, JAQS-SQ seeks to speed up the path for non-traditional suppliers to enter the defense market.
The Request for Proposals (RFP) for the Project Call was released on the first day of MMX 2025, America Makes’ annual member meeting in Youngstown, Ohio that’s focused on advancing AM across the U.S. supply chain; 3DPrint.com was a media sponsor for the event. At the end of the second day, Technology Transition Director Ben DiMarco provided attendees with more details about JAQS-SQ, and explained why it’s so important. In his own words, DiMarco is generally a “jolly” person, but he was dead serious at the microphone.
“JAQS-SQ is to prepare the supply base. This call is about transition, it’s about parts, it’s about qualifications. It’s a problem,” he said. “We need to get the word out about this.”
Ben DiMarco closed out MMX 2025 with an overview of the newly announced $1.7M project call JAQS-SQ. Image: Sarah Saunders.
While AM has become more common in many industries, including aerospace and medical devices, its broader use in defense is still somewhat limited. One of the biggest challenges for small and mid-sized AM suppliers is meeting the government’s strict qualification requirements. Many just don’t have the time, resources, or know-how to get their processes up to military standards. That’s exactly the gap JAQS-SQ aims to close.
DiMarco explained that just like sports teams have training camps and the military has boot camps, AM contract manufacturers also need training to break into defense applications.
“You train to win.”
The program will train suppliers to follow key process guidelines and use clear audits to show they’re meeting standards. A big part of this program is about building trust across the defense supply chain.
“You will get paid to train and make parts, and show that you can make them,” DiMarco explained. “There are aircraft that are grounded because they are missing parts. We need more suppliers to sell parts to our government, and part by part qualification will not cut it anymore.”
America Makes is leading the program in partnership with the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM). Funding comes from the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense, Manufacturing Technology Office (OSD ManTech), a group that has long backed 3D printing as a way to boost innovation and modernize U.S. defense production.
What’s more, the hope is that it will improve how AM is qualified and adopted at scale, while reducing costs and delays tied to existing qualification bottlenecks.
JAQS-SQ is part of a more general effort by the government to rebuild and strengthen the U.S. defense supply chain. By making it easier for non-traditional suppliers to get qualified, the program wants to expand the pool of trusted partners and add new capabilities to a system that’s constantly being tested. Any suppliers that pass will have qualified status within the DoD.
Companies selected for the first JAQS-SQ cohort, or Group 1, will focus on laser powder bed fusion (LPBF), and there will be future cohorts focused on different AM technologies. Wichita State University’s National Institute for Aviation Research (WSU-NIAR) will develop the transition knowledge and curriculum for participants, and they will also deliver the training, implementing Process Control Document (PCD) and Performance Qualification (PQ) guidance into the AM suppliers’ operations.
WSU-NIAR will also audit the suppliers over a 12-month period, with the goal of developing an accredited U.S. supply case. After Group 1 is successfully trained and audited, the curriculum and audit will be updated as needed, based on DoD Advisory Board feedback and configuration management, as well as feedback from the industry.
DiMarco reiterated that proposals don’t need to include NIAR in the project funding section; because they are preparing the training, they have a separate contract.
“Proposers should include a self-assessment, and be honest. Don’t bloat your MRL,” he cautioned.
The project will last 15 months—12 months for execution, and the rest for reporting, “so we have time to prepare the results for the next group,” DiMarco explained. Each proposal has a required minimum 25% cost share.
Evaluation criteria is as follows:
“A huge percentage is put on the proposal’s impact to the DoD,” DiMarco highlighted. “What did you learn, where did you stub your toe, how can it help the DoD?”
Image: Sarah Saunders
At MMX, Keith DeVries, Director of DoD ManTech, suggested that anyone interested in “throwing their hat in the ring” should check out the guidebook for the DoD’s MRL assessment to “help with the validity of your submission.” Project proposals are due by October 2 here. To be eligible, applicants must join America Makes by September 18. Questions about the Project Call’s scope or approach are due August 13th, which is next week. You can send questions to projectcall@americamakes.us, and they will be posted to the America Makes website; answers will come later this month.
DiMarco took some initial questions during the presentation; these will also be posted to the website, along with the answers. Someone from Lockheed Martin asked if primes (prime contractors that have a direct contractual relationship with a government entity) could participate, and DiMarco said that no matter if you’re a supplier, a small business, etc., “if you think you can make an impact, if you can ship parts at the end and increase capacity, I view you as eligible.”
Another question pivoted in a different direction. The attendee reminded us all what we’d learned during the event: while hundreds of parts are being 3D printed for U.S. defense, China is printing millions. Then he asked if we thought that China was still working this much on qualification activities. DiMarco did not attempt to answer that, noting that “these are the tools we have now.”
“I want to stay focused on the mission, which is supplier qualification.”
To that end, someone else asked if companies were required to participate in the program, or if they could pay their own way to attend trainings if they’re not selected. The America Makes team did not have an answer, but said they would find out.
The awards are expected to be announced on November 10. Full details, including proposal guidelines and submission requirements, can be found in the official RFP, which encourages interested applicants to act quickly to ensure eligibility and participation.
Breaking into defense manufacturing is not easy, but programs like JAQS-SQ can give newer AM suppliers a real shot at qualifying for serious contracts.
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