Authentise, Kform, and OpenWerks have launched SPARC (Surge Production & Readiness Command), a new platform designed to give the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and major manufacturers real-time visibility into domestic production capacity. Unveiled on 20 November 2025 and initially funded by the Defense Logistics Agency, the system is built to help defense buyers act faster, reduce single-source risk, and verify supplier readiness at scale.
SPARC connects directly to manufacturing machines, MES systems, and supplier data feeds to turn live shop-floor activity into evidence of production availability. According to its developers, this provides a source of machine-verified truth that replaces manual reporting and qualification documents.
“When a surge hits, forecasts fail and guesswork costs time,” said Callye Keen, CEO of Kform and one of the project’s development partners. “SPARC shows, in near real time, who can build what, and how fast. We must plan for success and confidently answer the challenge of scaling production.
”The platform has been built by a joint team of software and hardware firms, Authentise, Kform, and OpenWerks, with security and compliance as core requirements. SPARC transfers data through a zero-trust tunnel into Azure GovCloud and is designed to support full CMMC and ITAR compliance as it scales.
Dashboard tools inside SPARC provide three levels of operational insight. Supply Chain Health maps qualified suppliers and allows filtering by process, certification, and utilization. Demand Absorption simulates surge scenarios to identify stress points and delivery wave plans. Supplier Gantt displays machine-level throughput, idle time, and verified readiness.
Early pilot cases include projects modeled on active DoD demand signals, such as scaling production for a U.S. drone manufacturer from 100 to 10,000 units per month. The team says next steps involve onboarding more than 100 suppliers, adding additional MES and sensor integrations, and expanding SPARC’s scope from visibility to assured delivery.
“SPARC bridges the gap between promise and proof,” said Andre Wegner, CEO of Authentise. “For DoD, it’s how we achieve surge resilience without relying on foreign capacity. For suppliers, it’s the new credential: verifiable readiness.”
U.S. defense supply chain modernization
Recent U.S. initiatives show an increasing push to rebuild and distribute manufacturing capacity for national defense. Earlier this year, the Department of Defense launched the $10 million JAMA-IV program to establish a new additive manufacturing supply network focused on rapid qualification and regional resilience. That effort aims to expand the pool of deployable industrial partners and accelerate the transition of advanced production methods into defense programs.
Budget analysis has also indicated a rising commitment to additive manufacturing across the military. Funding increases have been directed toward production modernization, digital thread integration, and efforts to secure critical materials and components, reflecting growing concern over supply chain bottlenecks and overseas dependencies.
Parallel to these developments, America Makes opened a project call to help qualify 3D printing suppliers for DoD contracts. The program focuses on standardizing data, improving certification pathways, and strengthening the industrial base through broader supplier participation.
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Featured image shows the Supply Chain Health Dashboard. Image via Authentise.
