The U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter has awarded $75 million to help a consortium of high-tech firms and researchers develop electronic systems packed with sensors.

The group will work to advance the development and manufacture of so-called flexible hybrid electronics, which can be embedded with sensors and stretched, twisted and bent to fit aircraft or other platform where they will be used.

The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory will manage the consortium and add $90 million in federal funds, along with some additional funding from the local governments, to boost the total five-year funding level to $171 million.

Normally, the Pentagon would develop most of this technology itself, but the rapid development of new technologies around the world is forcing them to seek partnerships with the private sector.

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