Defense innovation hub at Wichita State is first on university campus – Military Embedded Systems

Defense innovation hub at Wichita State is first on university campus News December 18, 2023 WICHITA, Kan. Wichita State University (WSU) announced that its FirePoint Innovations Center has been selected to deliver Defense Innovation OnRamp Hub programming for the National Security Innovation Network (NSIN) through the newly established Great Plains Mission Acceleration Center (MAC), part of a national network of resources designed to connect small businesses, academia, and the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to support defense-focused technology development.   According to the announcement from WSU, the new Wichita State location — one of five facilities in the national network operating a Defense Innovation OnRamp Hub program and the only OnRamp Hub in the nation located on a university campus — will bring together small and medium-sized businesses across the U.S. Great Plains region to partner with the DoD, academia, and venture-capital investors to accelerate tech innovation and manufacturing to meet national defense and security needs. The network of OnRamp Hubs help small businesses tap into DoD contracting opportunities, and in turn enables the DoD to source groundbreaking new technologies and find supply-chain and manufacturing partners in the region. Steve Cyrus, FirePoint executive director, said of the selection: “FirePoint was chosen to host this facility based on our agnostic approach and ability to work across different sectors, plus our capacity and expertise with the U.S. Army Futures Command to support aviation innovation,” Cyrus said. “This program allows us to be part of a national network to expand opportunities for both local business and DoD partners.” The other four Defense Innovation OnRamp Hubs are located in Arizona, Hawaii, Ohio, and Washington.