BOSTON — The Pentagon is looking to improve the fabrics worn by U.S. soldiers through the creation of a Boston-based consortium that the defense secretary will announce on Friday.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology will lead the consortium of nearly 90 universities, manufacturers, independent research companies, start-ups and non-profits.
“Revolutionary fibers and textiles have enormous potential for our defense mission,” Defense Secretary Ash Carter will say, according to prepared remarks provided to the Washington Examiner. “Lightweight sensors, woven into the nylon of parachutes, will be able to catch small tears that otherwise would expand in midair, risking paratroopers’ lives.”
Other examples of possible innovations include uniforms with electronics embedded in the fabric that could detect chemical or radioactive threats, help power electronic devices in the field, and know when a wounded soldier might need an anti-bacterial bandage.
Officials hope the new initiative will lead to stronger, lighter-weight fabrics that are also flame resistant and conduct electricity.
“The realty is that, as I stand here, we don’t know all the advances this new technology will make possible — that’s the remarkable thing about innovation — and it’s another reason why America, and America’s military, must get there first,” Carter said in prepared remarks.
The institute will be funded by $75 million from the Defense Department, and $250 million in non-federal investments, according to a department fact sheet.
The institute, part of Carter’s broader efforts to encourage partnerships between the public and private sectors, will facilitate cooperation between unlikely partners, like audio equipment manufacturer Bose and computer chip maker Intel working with textile companies like Buhler Yarns and New Balance, the release says.
The textile institute is the eighth manufacturing hub set up under the Obama administration, according to a White House fact sheet. The president’s goal is to have at least 15 centers across the country focused on manufacturing innovation.
