Nikon AM Synergy Secures US Department of War Contract to Accelerate Aeronautical 3D Printing

Nikon AM Synergy, the engineering and manufacturing arm of Nikon Advanced Manufacturing, has secured an Other Transaction Agreement (OTA) contract with the U.S. Department of War's Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) under the Foundry for Operational Readiness and Global Effects (FORGE) program.

Although the contract amount remains undisclosed, the program targets a persistent production challenge: metal components used in high-performance aeronautical systems have long depended on casting methods that struggle to meet the pace and volume modern defense programs demand.

DIU Pushes AM for Wartime Production

The DIU connects military operators with advanced technology companies to accelerate the path from prototype to operational deployment. Through this contract, FORGE channels that model toward replacing casting-dependent processes with advanced manufacturing approaches capable of high-rate production while meeting government standards for survivability, reliability, and affordability.

"The DIU is excited to partner with Nikon AM and leverage their extensive engineering, manufacturing and qualification capabilities as we work to expand production capacity and alleviate aeronautical component bottlenecks," said DIU Program Manager Derek McBride.

Long Beach Facility at the Center

The program will be carried out at Nikon AM's Technology Center in Long Beach, California, a facility built around metal additive manufacturing for naval, defense, aviation, and space applications. The center brings together laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) systems from Nikon SLM Solutions, materials qualification capabilities, and Nikon's advanced inspection tools.

"As we continue to execute our holistic approach to deliver vital manufacturing capabilities to the United States and allied partners, we are proud to support the DIU in accelerating adoption and scaling of AM to strengthen warfighter readiness," said Dr. Behrang Poorganji, Nikon AM's Vice President of Technology.

Broader Defense Push for AM

This contract is part of a broader push by the US defense establishment to scale additive manufacturing for aeronautical applications. Other recent contracts include:

• Velo3D: $32.6M OTA with DIU under Project FORGE to prototype and qualify AM components
• 3D Systems: $7.65M US Air Force contract for large-format metal AM for high-temperature aerospace structures
• Elementum 3D: Selected for Air Force's Enterprise-Wide Agile Acquisition Contract for high-performance materials

Each of these efforts navigates the same fundamental barrier: qualifying additive manufacturing processes for flight-critical hardware while meeting the rigorous standards required for defense applications.