US Navy Removes Bureaucratic Barriers to 3D-Printed Metal Submarine Parts

A Faster Path to AM Parts Inside Submarine Programs

The US Navy published new technical requirements on August 11 designed to speed up the use of metal 3D-printed parts across the submarine enterprise. The directive, Project Peculiar Document 802-8436658, creates a repeatable pathway for swapping legacy cast and wrought components with additively manufactured metal alternatives.

In the past, replacing a traditional part with a 3D-printed equivalent meant a slow chain of part-by-part engineering reviews, drawing changes, and first-article tests. The new requirements strip out much of that redundant work, letting engineers move approved AM materials into designs without starting from scratch every time.

Why the Navy Wants This Now

Vice Adm. Robert Gaucher, Director of Submarine Programs, framed the move as a direct answer to supply-chain and obsolescence problems. "Additive manufacturing gives us a tool to get after supply chain constraints and part obsolescence by reducing the time it takes to get critical capability to our warfighters," he said. "This directive hands our engineers, shipbuilders, and suppliers authority to execute at scale."

The timing is not accidental. The Navy is working toward the 1+2 mandate: building one Columbia-class and two Virginia-class submarines each year while keeping the existing fleet ready. That workload is straining traditional suppliers, and long-lead parts from defunct vendors have become a recurring headache. 3D printing offers an on-demand alternative that can bypass those bottlenecks.

Safety Rules Stay in Place

The Navy is clear that faster approvals do not mean weaker standards. Parts used in high-consequence systems, including Level I material control and SUBSAFE applications, still have to meet existing Navy quality rules plus rigorous tracking and non-destructive inspection. The service already has operational data to point to: additively manufactured metal components have been running without issues on USS Washington and USS Nevada.

The Submarine Industrial Base Program Office's Advanced Manufacturing team developed the requirements alongside shipbuilders, suppliers, and other Navy stakeholders. The documents are now live and searchable through the Defense Logistics Agency Quick Search Portal and the Navy Digital Sea Resource Portal.

From Prototype to Production Reality

Separately, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard recently welded the first metal 3D-printed submarine component into place on USS Washington, a milestone the yard said proves the technology can meet the fleet's most rigorous specs. Pair that with the new PPD, and the Navy is signaling that additive manufacturing is no longer an experiment reserved for prototypes. It is becoming a standard option for building and maintaining submarines.