The Department of War is moving to rebuild missing engineering blueprints for aging military systems after original manufacturers disappeared and left critical technical data behind.
Many U.S. defense platforms still rely on parts designed decades ago. When the companies that made those components go out of business and technical drawings vanish, the military cannot easily replace broken parts. Without documentation, otherwise functional systems risk becoming unsustainable.
On February 9, the Department of War announced a two-year reverse-engineering initiative designed to recreate technical data packages for high-demand, defense-critical components that are no longer procurable.
Officials awarded the project to the Great Plains Innovation Network (GPIN) of Manhattan, Kansas, on August 27, 2025. The federal government shutdown delayed the public announcement, according to a Department of War release.
The Office of the Assistant Secretary of War for Industrial Base Policy is funding the effort through its Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment (IBAS) Program.
“This is an important effort as some of our most important legacy systems are to some degree unsustainable as the original equipment manufacturers are no longer in our industrial base,” Assistant Secretary of War for Industrial Base Policy Michael Cadenazzi said in the release.
GPIN will partner with Kansas State University to train interns and non-traditional defense contractors to generate technical data packages, including bills of material, computer-aided design models, and quality documentation required for manufacturing.
The department will use the Defense Logistics Agency’s parts catalog to identify high-demand components that manufacturers can no longer produce due to missing design documentation. By rebuilding those blueprints, officials aim to expand competition and allow more domestic companies to bid on contracts.
“At the end of the project, the United States will have a more resilient and competitive supply chain as a result of the collaboration we’ve made possible between GPIN and Kansas State University, and others across the Midwest as they forge new partnerships,” Cadenazzi said.
The Department of War said the effort supports Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s priority of rebuilding military readiness through domestic manufacturing capability.
Since 2014, the Innovation Capability and Modernization Office has spent more than $2.6 billion across 204 projects through the IBAS Program to restore domestic manufacturing capacity, according to the department. The current initiative totals nearly $1.8 million.
