Biomanufacturing is one of six new Critical Technology Areas receiving increased attention from the War Department.
Undersecretary of War for Research and Engineering Emil Michael said enhanced technology will drive the next era of American military strength.
Biomanufacturing covers a range of enhanced soldier readiness and even injury recovery.
National Defense magazine reported on some of the latest biomanufacturing programs that can support human performance, such as lab-grown protective coatings, lightweight bio-derived fabrics, or rapid-healing medical materials for field care.
Other efforts explore bioengineered nutrients, energy-producing microbes, or sensors that integrate with gear worn by service members to improve endurance, monitor stress, or speed recovery after injury.
Michael said adversaries are moving fast and the U.S. must move faster.
He said warfighters need results now, adding that the technology focus is imperative to give American forces the most advanced tools to maximize lethality.
The six critical technology areas of the new Pentagon readiness approach are Biomanufacturing, Applied Artificial Intelligence, Contested Logistics Technologies, Quantum and Battlefield Information Dominance, Scaled Directed Energy, and Scaled Hypersonics.
These areas are designed to answer the most urgent demands of modern conflict. The undersecretary said they will give U.S. forces the ability to counter threats, maintain pressure on adversaries, and operate in any environment.
War Secretary Pete Hegseth said America has always placed the best systems in the hands of its warriors. He said the new technology areas ensure U.S. troops never enter a fair fight.
Hegseth said the War Department intends to remain "the most deadly fighting force on planet Earth."
The department said this effort continues the tradition of American ingenuity that has carried the military through every major challenge in the nation's history.
It said breakthrough capabilities delivered directly to the warfighter will secure future dominance.
The U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Chemical Biological Center announced in February that it was developing a training protocol to share its knowledge of biomanufacturing with researchers across the Department of Defense.
A DOD lead researcher said the program will help "secure the domestic supply chain and thus ensure we're able to support warfighter readiness."
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