US Air Force Awards Almost $1B to 67 Companies, Including MELD

The US Air Force Rapid Sustainment Office (RSO) recently awarded a 9-year, $975 million contract to 67 different companies, universities, and research institutions for a nine-year project for maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) of deployed weapons systems. Among those awardees is MELD Manufacturing of Virginia, which claims to be “the only company with additive technology both invented and manufactured in the United States”.

MELD is the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of large-scale metal additive manufacturing (AM) systems that leverage the company’s patented additive friction stir deposition (AFSD) technique. AFSD utilizes a rapidly rotating toolhead to hammer metal barstock until it’s pliable, continuously feeding in new layers to join the materials together in their solid state.

About two years ago, the US Army contracted MELD and a few other partners to build “the world’s largest 3D printer” for the Jointless Hull Project, located at Rock Island Arsenal in Illinois, and used in the Army’s ground vehicle systems program. The Jointless Hull system has also been used to produce a rotor link assembly for the Boeing AH-64 Apache attack helicopter.

According to MELD, the company’s machines have also been used to develop drone frames for the Air Force, so this potentially provides insight into what may be the central purpose of this decade-long, billion-dollar mega project. In this vein, the project could be a part of the DoD’s big picture plans for the Replicator initiative, the first phase of which aims to build thousands of attritable autonomous systems by August 2025.

The assembly process for the Jointless Hull platform, of which MELD’s technology is the central part. Image courtesy of SME

According to DoD’s contract notice regarding the $975 million, 9-year deal for 67 awardees, “This contract enables the Air Force to optimize the operational readiness and lifecycle sustainment costs of its fielded weapon systems by rapidly identifying, integrating, prototyping, testing, qualifying, demonstrating, and scaling emerging technology applications in advanced manufacturing, automation and robotics, advanced composites, corrosion prevention and control, artificial intelligence and machine learning, and several other high-impact technical focus areas spanning the aircraft logistics and sustainment enterprise.”

Image courtesy of MELD Manufacturing

While, thus far, little else is known about the contract, that description alone suggests that it’s part of something big. Other AM industry awardees named in the contract notice include 3D Systems, Essentium, Authentise, and SPEE3D.

Given the diversity of the players involved, as well as the length of time and resources devoted to the contract, it could certainly do much on its own to accelerate the advanced manufacturing landscape in the US, as well as AM’s role within that landscape. The presence of MELD, specifically, in the project seems especially significant, as the Air Force is likely deliberately focused on building up capabilities that can represent advantages distinct to the US.