Login
iscover
The US Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition (ASN RD&A), Nickolas Guertin, has unveiled the inaugural Department of the Navy (DON) Advanced Manufacturing Strategy.
To continue reading the rest of this article, please log in.
Create free account to get unlimited news articles and more!
This strategy outlines three key areas of focus and aligns with the US National Defense Strategy (NDS), the US National Defense Industrial Strategy (NDIS), and the recently released DON Science & Technology Report on Additive Manufacturing.
The department-wide adoption of advanced manufacturing technologies is seen as crucial for building readiness and capability, aligning with the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) NAVPLAN 2024 and the Commandant of the Marine Corps (CMC) Force Design 2030 (2023) Annual Update.
Advanced manufacturing encompasses innovative technologies used to fabricate, repair, rework, or reverse-engineer parts or components. These technologies include additive manufacturing (3D printing), subtractive manufacturing, cold spray, directed energy deposition and coatings removal, robotics and automation, data analytics, and advanced machining.
Guertin explained the importance of the strategy, saying: “The leveraging of these cutting-edge innovations will allow the Navy and Marine Corps to maintain dominance. The department will continue to expand advanced manufacturing efforts in order to deliver lethal and affordable capabilities to the warfighter at the speed of relevance.”
The strategy features three lines of effort aimed at expanding the DON’s capabilities. The first focuses on leveraging cutting-edge commercial technologies for strategic advantage.
The second and third target expanding in-house capabilities, modernising depots, and enhancing warfighter self-sufficiency. To achieve these goals, the DON will collaborate with industry and academia to implement advanced manufacturing processes in design, production, and the supply chain.
Brigadier General Forrest Poole, Assistant Deputy Commandant Logistics Plans Policy and Strategic Mobility (LP) HQMC, highlighted the importance of the strategy for the Marine Corps, saying: “When properly resourced and applied, advanced manufacturing has the potential to provide a critical capability to the United States Marine Corps in garrison and to support forward-deployed units.”
To support these efforts, the DON has identified five key enablers for scaling advanced manufacturing: governance, manufacturing technology maturity, standards, digital architecture, and workforce development.
Erica Plath, the deputy assistant secretary of the Navy for sustainment, said: “Forging strong partnerships with commercial manufacturers and collaboration with private-sector entities offers the department access to cutting-edge technologies, innovation, and efficiency.”
“Access to digital data rights is required to enable advanced manufacturing to provide the correct parts at the correct specifications to enhance materiel availability and support requirements at multiple points of need. If properly applied, advanced manufacturing increases the resiliency of the logistics network across the spectrum of day-to-day support and conflict,” BRIGGEN Poole detailed further.
The Advanced Manufacturing Strategy implements one of the primary recommendations from the Department of the Navy’s Science and Technology Board report on Opportunities for Additive Manufacturing.
This strategy demonstrates the DON’s commitment to embracing advanced manufacturing to enhance readiness, strengthen capabilities, and integrate cutting-edge technologies across all aspects of naval operations.
