Building a Scalable Additive Manufacturing Pathway for Qualified Maritime Parts

The investment funds Austal USA, LLC to operate and expand a central additive manufacturing hub for the submarine industrial base. Through that hub, Austal USA, LLC helps qualify suppliers, validate machines, develop technical data packages, and move additively manufactured parts toward fleet installation. The work addresses a specific production constraint: many ship and submarine parts still depend on castings and forgings, while the qualified supplier base for additive manufacturing remains limited. By creating a single pathway for supplier activation, testing, data management, and qualification support, the effort is reducing the time and engineering cost required to shift suitable parts into additive production and building capacity that can support shipyards, public yards, and industrial suppliers at scale.

The Problem and Opportunity

The industrial base lacks a sustainable and scalable additive manufacturing capability supported by a qualified supplier network. Transitioning parts from castings and forgings to additively manufactured components can require substantial engineering effort, compliance work, and processing time. A central advanced manufacturing capability creates a practical way to reduce duplication, standardize supplier activation, support qualification, and move more parts toward installation.

Objective

Operationalize additive manufacturing as a viable manufacturing process for maritime production. The scope includes center operations, supplier activation, component production, data transfer, workforce integration, advanced technology development, non-destructive testing support, and qualification support.

The Solution

The investment supports Austal USA, LLC in providing program management and enterprise support for the AMPro/Sub Program and the additive manufacturing center of excellence in Danville, VA. The work gives the submarine industrial base a centralized capability for supplier activation, part readiness, testing support, and technical knowledge transfer. 
The work focuses on three areas:

• Supplier activation and qualification: Helping vendors and additive manufacturing machines become project peculiar document or military specification compliant, including qualification pathways relevant to Newport News Shipbuilding, General Dynamics Electric Boat, and NAVSEA05.
• Production readiness: Supporting additive manufacturing technical data package production, design for additive manufacturing, sustainment parts, component qualification, and ready-for-install parts.
• Industrial infrastructure: Supporting digital data exchange and archival, non-destructive testing, destructive testing, workforce integration, advanced technology development, and knowledge transfer across the submarine industrial base.

Impact

• The investment is converting additive manufacturing from a limited technical capability into a more usable production pathway for the submarine industrial base, with measurable progress across suppliers, machines, parts, and supported efforts.
• Supplier and machine qualification is expanding the base of production-ready additive manufacturing capacity: 4 vendors and 4 additive machines are now project peculiar document or military specification compliant, each against a target of 9 by November 1, 2026.
• Part readiness is moving beyond development activity toward installation: 54 metal additive manufacturing parts are ready for install against a target of 75, and installed-part instances have reached 10 against a target of 12 by November 1, 2026.
• The center is reducing the time and engineering burden required to transition suitable parts from forgings and castings to additive production, while supporting 26 directed projects against a target of 40 by November 1, 2026.

About BlueForge Alliance

BlueForge Alliance (BFA) is the national nonprofit, neutral integrator whose mission is to reinvigorate the U.S. defense industrial base necessary to produce next generation capabilities in partnership with the U.S. Navy and Department of Defense. BFA is a critical partner in the U.S. Navy Submarine Industrial Base’s mission to ensure industry has the capability, capacity, and resilience to build and maintain America’s next generation of undersea platforms and to support international commitments under the AUKUS partnership. The organization’s team of experts in a variety of disciplines focus on addressing critical workforce, technology, and supplier development needs. BFA is headquartered in Bryan/College Station, Texas. For more information, visit www.BlueForgeAlliance.us.