Department of the Air Force expedites N95 mask production effort

The Department of the Air Force rapidly executed three Department of Defense (DoD) contracts worth $133 million with 3M, Honeywell, and O&M Halyard to increase N95 mask production under the Defense Production Act Title 3.

“As the Department of Defense’s Executive Agent for the Defense Production Act, increasing N95 production is priority one,” Will Roper, the assistant secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, said. “This week’s award of $133 million to 3M, Honeywell and O&M Halyard will add around 13 million N95 masks per month to our nation’s supply in the near term. I sincerely thank our program team and each company for closing on this critical deal quickly.”

The Air Force Research Lab DPA Title 3 Executive Program Office, in conjunction with the Office of the Secretary of Defense Office for Industrial Policy and the Department of the Air Force’s Acquisition COVID-19 Task Force (DAF-ACT), finalized contracts within five days of White House Task Force approval.

The scope of work calls for facility and machinery conversion to boost the industrial capability and collectively produce 39 million masks in the next 90 days.

“I couldn’t be more proud of our team, especially the Air Force Research Laboratory contracting officers, who used their expertise to rapidly coordinate and secure these contracts,” Maj. Gen. Cameron Holt, DAF-ACT director, said. “This is just one example of many critical acquisition efforts that the DAF-ACT is proud to support as part of a whole-of-government response.”