Press Releases

Toray, IGCS International, & Lacks Carbon Fiber LLC Announce Joint Cooperation in Support of the USA DoD Drone Dominance Program

This collaboration will bring advanced composite materials to the US DoW for use in rapid and on-demand fabrication of drones.

27 May 2026

Morgan Hill, Calif., USA (Aug 11, 2026) — IGCS International, Lacks Carbon Fiber LLC, a Division of Lacks Enterprises, and Toray Advanced Composites today announced a collaborative effort in support of the Drone Dominance Program, a U.S. Army initiative focused on strengthening domestic high-rate drone and UAS manufacturing capabilities, accelerating advanced materials innovation, and reinforcing the U.S. industrial base for defense and UAS applications.

This collaboration will help bring advanced composite materials direct to the Department of War (DoW) for use in rapid and on-demand fabrication of drones for rapid operational development. The three organizations will align their capabilities across advanced composite materials, high volume component manufacturing and direct-to-government contracting to support Drone Dominance objectives. Specifically, Toray Advanced Composites will be providing pre-impregnated carbon and glass fiber reinforced composite materials, which will be laminated and processed by Lacks to meet the DoW’s component specifications, and then sold into the US Defense supply chain through IGCS. 

“Drone Dominance represents a critical opportunity to provide affordable, advanced materials direct to the end-user in the US Defense industry,” said Russ Spears of IGCS Int’l. “By working alongside Lacks Carbon Fiber and Toray Advanced Composites, we are supplementing the traditional OEM supply chain for unmanned platforms with components that can be integrated by the end user at the Depot level, and even potentially in the field. This creates a ‘best of both worlds’ situation for the Army.” 

“This collaboration reflects our commitment to supporting our soldiers with materials and components that can be used to fabricate and assemble drone platforms quickly and affordably,” said Ryan Lacks, Managing Director of Lacks Carbon Fiber division. “We see an opportunity to combine our large volume automotive component manufacturing capabilities and strong knowledge of composite materials processing to contribute to the success of the Drone Dominance program and help bring scale into the US defense industrial base.”

“Advanced composite materials play a central role in the future of aerospace and defense systems,” comments Eric Smith, Head of Defense Business Development of Toray Advanced Composites. “Working with IGCS and Lacks Carbon Fiber under the Drone Dominance framework allows us to deliver our materials directly to authorized government users and enable them to iterate, develop, and deploy small drone solutions rapidly and on-demand. This is something that they have been asking for, and we are pleased to be able to deliver this through our collaboration.”

About IGCS International
IGCS International a trusted Department of War provider with over 20 years’ experience provides systems integration, program support, and technical expertise for advanced manufacturing and defense-related initiatives for the federal marketplace. Igcsdefense.com

About Lacks Carbon Fiber
Lacks Carbon Fiber (LCF) is an exclusively U.S. manufacturing company specializing in advanced tooling, automation, and high-precision manufacturing solutions in the composite industry. LCF provides a proven combination of high-performance carbon fiber manufacturing advanced inspection, and in-house engineering capability to support the development and scalable production of mission-critical composite structures. Backed by 60+ years of experience in high-rate automotive manufacturing, LCF brings a production-minded approach to composites that emphasizes repeatability, quality, and scalability. Lackenterprises.com

About Toray Advanced Composites
Toray Advanced Composites is a leading supplier of high-performance composite materials, delivering innovative prepregs, resins, and engineered solutions for aerospace, defense, and industrial applications. Toraytac.com

Media Contacts

IGCS Int’l: Russ Spears. russ@igcsintl.com, 214-733-7278
Lacks Carbon Fiber: Michael Suchara, m.suchara@lacksenterprises.com, 248-797-9218
Toray Advanced Composites: Laura Sordello, l.sordello@toraytac-usa.com, 408-465-9602

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