More than 1,000 visitors had the chance to explore cutting-edge technology during a recent industry showcase event geared toward solving challenges faced in the military aviation maintenance community.

Hosted by the Eastern North Carolina (ENC) Tech Bridge in partnership with the National Center for Manufacturing Sciences (NCMS), Fleet Readiness Center East (FRCE) and Craven County, the NCMS Technology Showcase held July 16-17 at the Riverfront Convention Center of in New Bern featured almost 50 organizations presenting their newest innovations.

According to ENC Tech Bridge Director Jamaine Clemmons, the event was designed to allow stakeholders at all levels of the aviation maintenance enterprise to explore new industry products and have face-to-face conversations with the developers. This type of intentional connection can help drive the innovation that finds new uses for existing products or improves the development of technology in ways that make it beneficial to national defense efforts, he said.

“We have problems that need to be solved, and we work with industry and academia on how to solve these issues,” Clemmons explained. “Events like this technology showcase allow us to work on getting next-generation solutions into the hands of our warfighters, as well as our maintainers at our military aviation depots and shipyards.

“The type of collaboration that takes place during these events allows the ENC Tech Bridge to support the rapid development, testing and fielding of solutions that will enhance the mission readiness throughout the Naval Aviation Enterprise,” he continued. “Building these partnerships helps facilitate an environment that encourages innovation and the development of advanced technology, and that’s a win-win for these exhibitors and the Navy.”

Fleet Readiness Center East Commanding Officer Capt. James M. Belmont said he was impressed by the variety of technologies on display during the event, and was optimistic that the interaction between attendees and exhibitors would lead to positive developments.

“Finding innovative solutions to support our maintenance operations and our forward-deployed service members is a high priority for FRC East,” Belmont said. “It’s such an important part of what we do that we brought in hundreds of our depot’s workforce to interact with these exhibitors and see how these solutions can help improve our operations, from the highest levels of our leadership to our artisans who turn wrenches on the hangar deck, engineers, logisticians and even high school interns.”

The event came about as the result of growth that has been under way since the ENC Tech Bridge launched in early 2022, and was the Tech Bridge’s largest event to date.

“It has been gratifying to watch the Tech Bridge grow from an idea into a reality, and this tech showcase is just the next step in building an ecosystem of innovation that can speed solutions to our nation’s warfighters,” said Commander, Fleet Readiness Centers Engineering Group Head Mark Meno, who attended the showcase. “Events like this allow our enterprise artisans, engineers and support staff to see firsthand the emerging technology these small businesses bring to the table allows them to investigate potential uses for new equipment from a broad perspective.

“An aircraft maintainer, for instance, might have different ideas than an engineer of how a tool could be used to improve maintenance and repair operations, or consider modifications to an existing technology that could make it useful in a manner the manufacturer hadn’t yet considered,” he continued. “Having the opportunity to get all of these groups together is a really effective way to create the collaboration that drives innovation adoption of new technology, while helping our Sailors and Marines maintain the technological superiority they need to fight and win. That’s very exciting.”

Providing a venue in which those types of collaborations can begin is one of the reasons NCMS hosts technology showcase events at U.S. military facilities around the globe, said Debbie Lilu, NCMS vice president of maintenance and sustainment business development.

“NCMS was thrilled to facilitate connections between members of our trusted network of technology solution providers and the Fleet Readiness Center East and ENC Tech Bridge stakeholders," she said. "NCMS has established our technology showcases because we recognize that effective solutions grow out of such opportunities for dynamic idea sharing. We stand ready to assist as new collaborations formed through this event work toward demonstrating, validating, and implementing critically needed sustainment innovations." 

The ENC Tech Bridge works to bridge the gap between the Navy and nontraditional partners like small businesses, academia and nonprofits by building an ecosystem of innovation that supports the Navy and Marine Corps. Local Tech Bridge efforts focus on several areas of consideration, including manufacturing and repair technologies; advanced manufacturing; big data, data analytics and visualization; technical insertion; augmented and mixed reality; automation and robotics; soft and wicked problem solving; and workforce development. The ENC Tech Bridge operates in conjunction with a partnership between FRCE and Craven County.

The NCMS Technology Showcase was the first collaborative business development event between Craven County and the ENC Tech Bridge, and gives the county the opportunity to support research, education and industry growth in the county along with Tech Bridge initiatives, said Craven County Economic Development Director Jeff Wood.

“This event underscores the fruitful collaboration between Craven County and the Eastern North Carolina Tech Bridge," Wood said. “It highlights the pivotal role of our partnership to accelerate technology transfer and foster new opportunities within the aerospace defense sector."

As part of the NavalX network, 19 Tech Bridges aim to make connections between the Navy and emerging entities like startups, small businesses, academia, nonprofits and private capital that aren’t traditionally part of the Navy’s development and acquisition process. The Tech Bridge framework allows the Navy to collaborate with nontraditional partners and accelerate the innovation timeline in ways that traditional acquisition methods do not. This structure eases the collaboration process and allows the Navy to leverage the speed and efficiency improvements these nontraditional partners have experienced in recent years, ultimately putting assets in the hands of the nation’s warfighters significantly faster, at a more economical rate.

“The future starts here,” Clemmons said. “It starts with industry and innovation, and how we collaborate to solve these problem sets and bridge the gap between the Navy and emerging entities like startups, small businesses, academia, nonprofits and private capital that aren’t traditionally part of the Navy’s development and acquisition process, so they can help us develop solutions for our warfighters.

“This is how we get to a posture where we’re ready to fight tomorrow’s wars, today,” he continued. “When the call comes, it starts with technology, and how our service men and women can use that technology to come home safely.”