DEFENSE PRODUCTION ACT TITLE III
ADVANCING THE INDUSTRIAL BASE TO DEFEND THE NATION
What is DPA Title III?
DPA Title III is a unique Presidential authority administered by the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Policy. As one of three active authorities, first signed into law in 1950 and renewed in 2018, Title III provides authorities to the President enabling investments in industry to create, maintain, protect, expand, or restore domestic industrial base capabilities. The program executes projects ranging from process improvements to production plant facilitization, and targets the most important elements of production as they relate to the nation’s needs.
What is the mission of the Title III Program?
The mission of Title III is to “create assured, affordable, and commercially viable production capabilities and capacities for items essential for national defense.”
What do Title III projects accomplish?
Title III efforts aim to create, maintain, protect, expand or restore production capabilities of domestic suppliers whose technologies and products are critical to the nation’s security. These initiatives increase the supply, improve the quality and reduce the cost of advanced materials and technologies. Title III projects also reduce dependency on foreign sources of supply for critical materials/technologies while strengthening the economic and technological competitiveness of the U.S. industrial base.
What is the Air Force’s role in executing Title III?
The Department of the Air Force serves as the Executive Agent for the Title III Program for the Department of Defense. The DPA Title III Executive Agent Program Office (EAPO), which includes program managers, scientists, engineers and subject matter experts, is part of the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Materials and Manufacturing Directorate.
An Airman receives a cloud of smoke to test the ventilation of his N95 mask issue at Ahmed Al Jaber Air Base, Kuwait March 13, 2020. Airmen serving in specific mission sets with potential exposure to the COVID-19 virus are provided with an N95 mask. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Alexandre Montes)
Why is DPA Title III important to the DoD?
Authorities granted through the Defense Production Act enable the government to utilize funding options and methods that would otherwise be unavailable in support of industrial enterprise and national security objectives. Title III ensures the availability of essential domestic industrial resources for national defense needs and homeland security requirements.
How has DPA Title III supported the nation during the COVID-19 pandemic?
Utilizing DPA Title III authorities, the EAPO awarded agreements that increased domestic production of critical medical supplies to meet national demand. These efforts tripled the manufacturing capacity of COVID-19 test kits, increased the total production of N95 masks by 450 million per year and increased nasal-pharyngeal test swabs by 20 million per month.
Under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act or CARES Act of 2020, the White House leveraged DPA Title III authorities to increase production of medical resources and mitigate economic damage to the defense industrial base. These actions ultimately supported the survival of our national defense capabilities and aided with homeland security during the national crisis.
The Department of Defense used Title III authorities to maintain critical industrial capabilities and restore some lost jobs. Title III investments support the following industrial capabilities: aircraft, shipbuilding, space, soldier systems, ground systems, radar and electronic warfare, materials and microelectronics.