Ensign-Bickford Aerospace and Defense Awarded Contract Tied to Growing DOD’s Hypersonic Weaponry

Simsbury, Connecticut-based Ensign-Bickford Aerospace & Defense has received an $11.7 million contract from the Department of Defense’s Defense Production Act Investment program to boost the capacity of its printed circuit board assembly operations. 

Laura Taylor-Kale, assistant secretary of defense for industrial base policy, said the DPAI program is a vital contributor to the DOD’s objective to spur hypersonic weapons systems development and adoption to add cutting-edge capabilities to U.S. warfighters. Taylor-Kale’s office works with U.S. and international partners to ensure a dependable defense industrial base and supply chain.

EBAD uses advanced manufacturing processes enabling rapid prototyping and significantly lower production costs to support the goal, the Department of Defense said Friday.

During a House Armed Services Committee hearing in February, Heidi Shyu, undersecretary of defense for research and engineering, a speaker at a Potomac Officers Club event and a Wash100 Award winner, discussed the merits of investing in hypersonic weapons, stressing that they are a game-changer against foes.

The EBAD contract is the latest award under the DPAI program covering multiple areas and with a $300 million total allotment in fiscal year 2024.

DPAI funding in 2023 included the $12.7 million award to IperionX in November to raise its production of titanium powder vital to producing titanium alloys used in missiles and other defense applications.