Cambium, a defense and aerospace innovator, has been awarded a contract with BioMADE, a prime contractor and the bio-manufacturing arm of the Department of Defense (DoD) that drives the transition of bio-for-defense (B4D) products from the laboratory to the warfighter and commercial markets. The focus of this contract is to develop and field-test superior bio-manufactured thermal protection systems for the DoD.

Thermal Protection Systems (TPS) protect airframes from severe aerodynamic heating and pressure loads experienced during flight. Existing TPSs are slow to manufacture and severely supply constrained. Cambium is developing alternative TPSs that exhibit similar high thermal stability and mechanical strength characteristics, coupled with easier manufacturing processes and a sustainable domestic supply.

In addition to BioMADE, Cambium is working with the U.S. Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division in China Lake, CA and the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, to develop a range of new high-performance biomaterials that can be industry certified and integrated into a broad set of high-value defense and aerospace performance systems from hypersonic flight vehicles to enhanced survivability unmanned aerial vehicles to laser protective eyewear.

"This latest award offers further evidence of Cambium’s leading role in developing advanced biomaterials for high-performance applications and our commitment to enhancing protection of valuable assets and assisting in the strengthening of domestic supply chains," says Cambium Co-founder and CEO Simon Waddington.