Tris10 @ MeND 🛩️

Super interesting time to be a small manufacturer relevant to the defense industrial base. Especially for firms in sectors SBA & Dept of War have flagged as priorities: munitions & components, drones, microelectronics, critical minerals, shipbuilding & repair components, sensors, batteries, castings & forgings, textiles. Here's a snapshot of the major federal moves this yr aimed at pulling more small manufacturers in to meet national security needs: 1. Office of Industrial Base Growth: In January, Dept of War stood up the Office of Industrial Base Growth, which absorbed the Office of Small Business Programs and widened its mandate to new entrants, mid-tier firms & nontraditional suppliers. 2. LYNX: On January 29, DoW launched LYNX, a platform built for new entrants, small businesses & nontraditional suppliers that have the technical chops but struggle to navigate defense requirements & find partners. 3. Civil Reserve Manufacturing Network - $131 million pilot: Created in the FY26 NDAA, CRMN builds a network of commercial manufacturers willing to convert production capacity to defense work during a crisis. 4. Made in America Loan Guarantee - up to $5 million at a 90% guarantee: On March 31, SBA announced a 90% federal guarantee for small manufacturers (vs. the standard 75% under 7a) to finance equipment, facility modernization, inventory, acquisitions & capacity expansion. 5. Manufacturer fee waivers - 0% upfront fees: SBA, 7(a) & 504 loan programs. Through Sept 30, manufacturers paid 0% upfront fees on 7(a) loans up to $950K and 0% upfront & annual fees on 504 loans. The FY27 fee schedule, effective Oct 1, keeps a 0% upfront fee on 7(a) loans to manufacturers up to $700K. 6. Smaller War Plants Commission: SBA & Dept of War, joint MOU, central coordinating body for small defense suppliers. On August 25, SBA & DoW established the SWPC, named after the WWII-era Smaller War Plants Corporation. The mandate is to pair enhanced SBA guarantees with investment & contracting opportunities, build an inventory of small business production capacity for CRMN, deploy joint teams to remove regulatory barriers, and report regularly to the President. 7. 8(a) fast track for critical defense manufacturers: SBA, 8(a) Business Development Program, 10 priority NAICS codes. On September 10, SBA began prioritizing 8(a) applications from firms in 10 defense-critical manufacturing codes, including: - ammunition (small arms & other) - guided missiles & space vehicles - aircraft parts - navigation & guidance systems - electronic components - iron & steel - machine shops - fabricated metal - shipbuilding & repair The gap is significant. Only 1.2% of active 8(a) firms are registered in those codes, and three of them have zero 8(a) firms. 8. SBA & Dept of War capital agreement: On October 12, SBA & DoW signed an MOA putting money behind the SWPC. DoW's Economic Defense Unit will identify small defense suppliers that need financing & refer them into SBA's 7(a) & 504 lender networks. SBA will also handle diligence, underwriting & portfolio management for DoW-funded redeemable preferred equity in small & mid-sized firms. 9. Army Manufacturing Rodeo: On October 12 at AUSA, Acting Army Secretary Adam Telle announced a "Manufacturing Rodeo," a race between industrial base partners early next year that will strain the Army's organic industrial base & the broader manufacturing network to find the weak links, fix them & keep iterating.

We are taking a sledgehammer to the oldest DEI program in the federal government—the 8(a) program.

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