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The battlefield requires weapon guidance, threat detection, recognition and optical targeting and imaging systems that operate in hard-to-distinguish threat environments, in all conditions, day or night. Since ultraviolet, visible, and infrared optical systems remain the ultimate solution for many systems requirements, high precision optics are pervasive in the military. Systems in development, such as Directed Energy (DE) Weapons and hypersonic missiles impose new optics manufacturing demands. Affordable U.S. manufactured advanced optics are needed to meet these new requirements, and the development of advanced, cutting edge optics design and manufacturing technology is needed to provide superior systems that will enhance the combat capabilities of the warfighter.
The American Center for Optics Manufacturing (AmeriCOM) was established by optics manufacturers essential to the defense industrial base in partnership with the Defense Department. The AmeriCOM mission is a three-pronged national effort:
• Develop workforce training programs specifically targeted to support the increasing complexity and growing manufacturing requirements of the nation’s optics and photonics industry.
• Develop advanced optics manufacturing technologies, testing equipment, and the specialized materials required to support scalable manufacturing in order to strengthen the defense precision optics industrial base.
• Successfully transition the mission-critical optics and photonics technologies developed, to production manufacturing operations — the most important measure of success.
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