DIBC - Defense Manufacturing Readiness Exercise Request for Solutions (RFS) DIBC-RFS-26-02
Below is a brief summary. Please check the full solicitation before applying (link in resources section).
Executive Summary:
The Defense Manufacturing Readiness Exercise (DMRE) is a phased prototype opportunity issued under the Defense Industrial Base Consortium (DIBC) Other Transaction Agreement (OTA) to identify manufacturers and design organizations that could strengthen future U.S. defense production capacity. Rather than asking companies to build complete defense systems, the Government is looking for organizations that can fill specific production roles, demonstrate manufacturing readiness, and provide evidence that they could become qualified, contractable, and usable suppliers for future defense needs.
The exercise focuses on two manufacturing areas:
Group 3 Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS/UAV)
Munitions wiring harnesses, connectors, and electrical interconnect assemblies
The Government is encouraging participation from both traditional and nontraditional defense companies, including businesses with little or no previous defense contracting experience. Companies may participate as manufacturers, contract manufacturers, OEMs, suppliers, design owners, system integrators, testing providers, tooling providers, or other organizations that contribute to defense manufacturing readiness.
Unlike a traditional grant program, this opportunity uses a phased evaluation process. Companies first submit high-level capability information. Selected participants may then move into prototype activities, readiness assessments, and potential prototype awards.
Application Deadline: July 20, 2026 23:59 ET
If your company has manufacturing capacity, production expertise, engineering capabilities, or facilities that could support future defense production—even if you have never worked with the Department before—this is an opportunity to get on the Government's radar before future production requirements emerge.
How much funding would I receive?
Instead, it states:
Initial aggregate funding is approximately $15,000,000 across multiple potential awards and activities.
Subject to funding availability and Government determination, additional funding up to $100,000,000 may be considered.
Funding may support:
Stage 1 Small Business Readiness Awards
Discovery and technical exchanges
Prototype awards
Teaming and production approach activities
Conversion planning
Validation activities
Milestone-based prototype activities
Qualification and acceptance support
CRMN-related analysis and readiness assessments
Funding allocations, timing, and the number of awards are not specified and may change throughout the exercise.
Topics of focus:
Topic 1: Group 3 UAS/UAV Design and Manufacturing Production Roles (DIBC-26-02-001)
The Government is seeking companies that can help strengthen the manufacturing ecosystem for Group 3 unmanned aerial systems (UAS/UAVs). Rather than requiring a single company to build an entire aircraft, the focus is on organizations that can perform specific production or design functions within a larger supply chain.
Examples of eligible capabilities include:
Component manufacturing
Subsystem manufacturing
Assembly and contract assembly
Integration support
Contract manufacturing
Distributed manufacturing
Supplier support and supplier network coordination
Ground support equipment
Testing and inspection
Quality assurance
Tooling, fixtures, and test equipment
Producer-to-incumbent teaming
OEM participation
System integration
Air vehicle or subsystem design
Configuration management
Manufacturing and producibility engineering
Technical data ownership or stewardship
The Government wants to understand:
Which companies and facilities are credible candidates for these production roles.
What work can realistically be performed in-house versus outsourced.
What technical, manufacturing, quality, cybersecurity, supplier, and business constraints could affect production.
What teaming arrangements are realistic.
What Government support could reduce barriers.
What it would take to move from existing capability to qualified, contractable, and usable defense production.
How manufacturing readiness could be maintained after the exercise.
How the results could support Civil Reserve Manufacturing Network (CRMN) planning.
Topic 2: Munitions Wiring Harness and Connector Production Roles (DIBC-26-02-002)
The Government is also seeking companies that can support the production of munitions wiring harnesses, connectors, electrical interconnect assemblies, and related manufacturing activities.
Companies are not expected to produce an entire munition. Instead, the Government is interested in organizations that can perform specific manufacturing or supplier functions within the production process.
Examples of eligible capabilities include:
Wiring harness fabrication
Connector assembly
Electrical interconnect assembly
Cable and wire processing
Inspection and testing
Quality assurance
Tooling, fixtures, and test equipment
Source approval support
Supplier support
Contract manufacturing
Contract assembly
Distributed manufacturing
Producer-to-incumbent teaming
Supplier network coordination
The Government wants to understand:
Which companies and facilities are capable of supporting wiring harness and connector production.
What manufacturing activities can be performed internally versus outsourced.
What technical specifications, qualification requirements, supplier dependencies, cybersecurity requirements, and business conditions could affect production.
What teaming opportunities are feasible.
What Government assistance could reduce manufacturing barriers.
What would be required to become qualified, contractable, and production-ready.
How manufacturing readiness could be sustained after the exercise.
How the information could support future Civil Reserve Manufacturing Network (CRMN) planning.
What could I use the funding for?
The Government intends to fund prototype activities that improve defense manufacturing readiness rather than traditional research projects.
Depending on your role in the exercise, funding may support activities such as:
Manufacturing readiness planning
Production role development
Conversion planning
Teaming development
Validation activities
Execution activities
Readiness assessments
Qualification and acceptance activities
Supplier network development
Manufacturing engineering
Production approach development
The Statement of Need explains that the Government is seeking evidence that companies can move from potential manufacturing capability to qualified, contractable, and usable defense production capacity.
For the Group 3 UAS/UAV topic, potential production roles include:
Component production
Subsystem production
Assembly
Integration support
Contract manufacturing
Distributed production
Testing
Inspection
Quality support
Tooling
Manufacturing engineering
System integration
Design ownership
Technical data stewardship
Producer-to-incumbent teaming
For the Munitions Wiring Harness topic, examples include:
Wiring harness fabrication
Connector assembly
Electrical interconnect assembly
Cable processing
Inspection
Testing
Tooling
Quality support
Contract manufacturing
Distributed production
Supplier-network support
Companies are not expected to manufacture complete end items. The Government specifically states that it is interested in realistic, bounded production roles within larger defense production ecosystems.
Are there any additional benefits I would receive?
Beyond potential prototype funding, the DMRE is designed to help companies establish relationships with the defense industrial base and demonstrate their manufacturing capabilities.
Potential benefits identified in the solicitation include:
New market opportunities and growth positioning
Development of new business connections
Assessment of operational resilience and agility
Potential access to streamlined funding from the Department
Participation in capability discovery activities
Identification of future production role opportunities
Inclusion in Government planning for manufacturing readiness and the Civil Reserve Manufacturing Network (CRMN)
Companies may also be placed into a Manufacturing Readiness Candidate Pool, allowing the Government to retain visibility into their capabilities for future consideration even if they are not immediately selected for prototype activities.
Placement in the Candidate Pool does not guarantee an award, future funding, or advancement to Stage 2.
What is the timeline to apply and when would I receive funding?
The solicitation provides the following schedule:
Milestone Date
RFS Issue Date June 25, 2026
Questions Due Date July 1, 2026
Submission Due Date July 20, 2026 23:59 ET
After submission:
Companies submit the Stage 1 questionnaire.
The Government conducts screening.
Selected companies may participate in discovery activities.
The Government determines whether companies:
Advance to Stage 2 Prototype Activities;
Receive Small Business Readiness Award consideration;
Enter the Manufacturing Readiness Candidate Pool; or
Receive No Further Action.
Stage 2 participants complete milestone-based prototype activities that may include:
Teaming and production approach
Conversion planning
Validation
Execution
Readiness assessment
The solicitation states that the Government's goal is to complete the Defense Manufacturing Readiness Exercise within 9 months from RFS issuance, although it reserves the right to extend or cancel the exercise.
The solicitation does not specify when individual award decisions or funding payments will occur. Payment schedules will be established through applicable Project Sub Agreements.
Where does this funding come from?
Funding comes through the Defense Industrial Base Consortium (DIBC) under the authority of 10 U.S.C. § 4022 using an Other Transaction Agreement (OTA).
According to the solicitation, the DMRE supports broader Industrial Base Policy (IBP) objectives by:
Improving manufacturing readiness
Strengthening domestic production capability
Increasing industrial-base resilience
Expanding awareness of available manufacturing capacity
Generating decision-grade evidence for future industrial-base planning
Supporting development of the Civil Readiness Manufacturing Network (CRMN)
The Government states that the exercise is intended to improve understanding of manufacturing capabilities, production constraints, surge capacity, and readiness preservation opportunities that may support future defense production requirements.
Who is eligible to apply?
The Defense Manufacturing Readiness Exercise is open to both traditional and nontraditional performers (as defined by 10 U.S.C. § 3014), including companies with little or no prior defense contracting experience.
The Government is seeking participation from both manufacturing-side and design-side organizations.
Examples of eligible participants include:
Manufacturing-side organizations
Manufacturers
Contract manufacturers
Component suppliers
Assemblers
Tooling providers
Testing and inspection providers
Manufacturing engineering providers
Logistics and production-support providers
Design-side organizations
Design owners
Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs)
Current producers
Technical-data holders
System integrators
Organizations possessing production knowledge, supplier relationships, qualification expertise, manufacturing constraints, or production opportunities relevant to the exercise
Companies may submit information for:
Topic 1 – Group 3 UAS/UAV Design and Bounded Manufacturing Production Roles
Topic 2 – Munitions Wiring Harness / Connector Bounded Production Roles
Or both topic areas.
For Stage 1, respondents are not required to be DIBC members, unless otherwise specified.
However, only DIBC members may receive a prototype Project Sub Agreement award under the DIBC OTA. Companies selected for prototype award consideration must complete all applicable DIBC membership, eligibility, representation, certification, and award-readiness requirements before award execution.
Who is not eligible to apply?
However, it does specify several important limitations:
Companies that do not complete required DIBC membership and award-readiness requirements cannot receive a prototype award.
Organizations that submit late Stage 1 responses will not be considered.
Stage 1 responses must be submitted exclusively through the ATI Acquisition Management Platform.
Respondents may not submit classified information, export-controlled information, trade secrets, proprietary manufacturing data, customer-specific information, or Controlled Unclassified Information (unless submitted through approved means).
White papers, capability statements, presentations, marketing materials, and other supplemental documentation are not permitted during Stage 1 unless expressly requested by the Government.
The solicitation does not identify any business size restrictions, geographic restrictions, nonprofit restrictions, university restrictions, or ownership restrictions beyond those explicitly stated.
What companies and projects are likely to win?
The Government is looking for companies that can provide credible evidence they could contribute to future defense manufacturing—not necessarily companies that already manufacture complete defense systems.
During Stage 1, the Government may evaluate factors such as:
Manufacturing relevance
Facility relevance
Production capability relevance
Manufacturing-readiness potential
Available manufacturing capacity
Quality systems
Manufacturing adaptability
Industrial-base value
Discovery value
Production opportunity relevance
Technical-data relevance
Manufacturing-capacity matching value
For Stage 2, evaluation may consider:
Teaming viability
Production approach viability
Manufacturing feasibility
Planning credibility
Tooling readiness
Workforce readiness
Supplier readiness
Execution performance
Readiness outcomes
Industrial-base value
Government value
The Government also states it may consider:
Portfolio balance
Manufacturing-sector diversity
Geographic diversity
Small-business participation
Nontraditional participation
Industrial-base resilience
Overall exercise value
Rather than selecting only companies capable of producing complete systems, the Government is explicitly interested in organizations that can fill bounded production roles within broader defense manufacturing ecosystems. This includes manufacturers, suppliers, integrators, testing providers, design organizations, tooling companies, and other specialized contributors.
How competitive will this solicitation be?
This opportunity is expected to be highly competitive.
Several factors contribute to the competition:
The Government may select one or more solutions, partial solutions, role-specific solutions, phase-limited efforts, or no solution.
Advancement through the exercise occurs in multiple stages.
Participation in Stage 1 does not guarantee advancement to Stage 2.
Participation in one milestone does not guarantee continuation to subsequent milestones.
The Government reserves broad discretion to modify, expand, reduce, suspend, or discontinue participant activities throughout the exercise.
At the same time, the solicitation is intentionally broad.
Unlike many Department of Defense solicitations, the Government specifically encourages participation from:
Traditional performers
Nontraditional performers
Companies with little or no prior defense contracting experience
Manufacturers
Design organizations
Suppliers
Contract manufacturers
System integrators
Companies that can clearly demonstrate manufacturing capability, readiness potential, and realistic production roles are likely to be more competitive than those providing generic capability statements.
Are there any restrictions I should know about?
Some of the most important restrictions include:
Submission Deadline: Responses must be received by July 20, 2026 23:59 ET.
Submission Method: Stage 1 responses must be submitted exclusively through the ATI Acquisition Management Platform.
Question Deadline: Questions are due July 1, 2026.
Stage 1 responses must consist only of the electronic questionnaire.
Additional documents may not be submitted unless requested.
Respondents should provide high-level, non-proprietary information during Stage 1.
Classified information should not be submitted.
Export-controlled information should not be submitted.
Trade secrets and proprietary manufacturing data should not be submitted during Stage 1.
Communication with Government personnel regarding the RFS is prohibited unless specifically authorized through ATI or another official Government communication.
The solicitation also makes clear that participation:
Does not guarantee funding.
Does not guarantee placement in the Candidate Pool.
Does not guarantee prototype award.
Does not guarantee follow-on production.
Does not guarantee future Government work.
The Government reserves the right to:
Make no award.
Make multiple awards.
Make partial awards.
Modify milestones.
Pause or discontinue activities.
Restructure teams.
Modify participant roles.
Cancel the effort at any time.
How long will it take me to prepare an application?
The solicitation is designed to minimize the burden of the initial submission.
For Stage 1, companies submit only a high-level electronic questionnaire describing topics such as:
Company profile
Facility profile
Manufacturing capabilities
Production environment
Product areas
Capacity indicators
Manufacturing-readiness indicators
Potential production roles
Production constraints
Technical-data availability
Supplier dependencies
Because no technical proposal, white paper, capability statement, cost proposal, or other supplemental documentation is required during Stage 1, most qualified companies should expect a relatively modest preparation effort compared to a traditional federal proposal.
The solicitation does not specify an expected preparation time.
How can BW&CO help?
BW&CO can help you determine whether your manufacturing capabilities align with the Defense Manufacturing Readiness Exercise and position your company for the strongest possible Stage 1 submission.
Our team can assist with:
Evaluating your eligibility and fit for the opportunity.
Identifying the most competitive production roles to emphasize.
Translating commercial manufacturing capabilities into defense-ready language.
Preparing clear, compliant responses to the Stage 1 questionnaire.
Developing a strategy for potential Stage 2 prototype activities.
Advising on DIBC membership requirements if prototype award consideration becomes available.
Positioning your company for future Department of Defense manufacturing opportunities beyond this exercise.
Even if your company has never worked with the Department of Defense before, this solicitation is specifically intended to identify manufacturers and design organizations that can strengthen future domestic defense production capacity.