Page 103: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (June 1993)

DEFENSE

CONVERSIO

Shipbuilders and Ship Mochinerj

Manufacturers To Benefit

By

James R. McCaul, president

IMA Associates, Inc.

The Defense Conversion, firms in converting to commerc Reinvestment, and Tran- activities in order to ensure th| sition Assistance Act of continued availability for futi 1992 provides a frame- military requirements. Until work for assisting defense con- cently, ARPA has been known as t| tractors in transitioning from Defense Advanced Research Projed military to commercial activity. Agency. Reflecting its changedrol

To implement the Act, $575 mil- Defense was dropped from tl lion was included in the 1993 agency's name in March of this ye| defense appropriations to sup- - and the organization reverted port defense conversion pro- the original name which it he| f rams. Included in the budget is through 1972. 15 million to support applied ARPA is a small agency with| research and development for total staff of about 190. This sme commercial shipbuilding. This staff administers an R&D budget \ represents the kick-off of a Na- $2.4 billion in fiscal 1993. ARPl tional Shipbuilding Initiative utilizes the professional capability which is ultimately projected to of the Army, Navy, Air Force, NAS/ provide funding of $2.2 billion DOE and other government ageil over the next eight years. cies to evaluate and manage specif projects. Proposals sent to ARPJ

Role of ARPA are distributed to appropriate ind| viduals within other governmer

Responsibility for coordinat- agencies for review and evaluatior ing programs under the Defense ^l™1? may be awarded directlj

ConversionActhasbeengivento *>y or through the contract the Advanced Research Projects ing offices of other government agen|

Agency (ARPA). This agency, cies- created in 1958, functions as the central research & development Technology Reinvestment (R&D) office in the Department Project of Defense (DOD). Its creation was motivated by the Russian in mid-March of 1993, ARPl launching of Sputnik. ARPA's announced the implementation ofl task until recently has been to the Technology Reinvestment ensure that the U.S. stayed in Project. This project is to be thel front of the technology race for vehicle for channeling government! developing new military systems. funds to U.S. companies for defense!

This task has now been broad- conversion activities. Nine programs! ened to include assisting defense have been grouped under the Tech-1 1993 Funding

For Technology Reinvestment Project Purpose (millions of $)

Defense dual use critical technology partnerships $81.9

Commercial-military integration partnerships 42.1

Regional technology alliances assistance program 90.5

Defense advanced manufacturing technology partnerships 23.5

Manufacturing extension programs 87.4

Defense dual use assistance extension program 90.8

Manufacturing engineering education grant program 43.6

Manufacturing experts in the classroom 4.

Small business innovative research program 7.2 105 Maritime Reporter/Engineering News