{"id":222173,"date":"2026-03-16T14:52:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T14:52:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/222173\/"},"modified":"2026-03-16T14:52:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T14:52:08","slug":"nikon-am-synergy-secures-us-department-of-war-contract-to-qualify-am-for-aeronautical-systems","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/222173\/","title":{"rendered":"Nikon AM Synergy Secures US Department of War Contract to Qualify AM for Aeronautical Systems"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nikon AM Synergy<\/a>, the engineering and manufacturing arm of Nikon Advanced Manufacturing<\/a>, has secured an Other Transition Agreement (OTA) contract with the U.S. Department of War\u2019s Defense Innovation Unit<\/a> (DIU) under the Foundry for Operational Readiness and Global Effects (FORGE) program.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Although the amount remains undisclosed, the contract 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Nikon\"NikonNikon SLM NXG XII 600 metal additive manufacturing system. Photo via Nikon SLM Solutions.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

DIU Program Manager Derek McBride noted the strategic fit. \u201cThe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Long Beach Facility at the Center of Execution<\/p>\n

The program will be carried out at Nikon AM\u2019s 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<\/a>, materials qualification capabilities, and Nikon\u2019s advanced inspection tools, all operating under rigorous manufacturing requirements.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs 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,\u201d said Dr. Behrang Poorganji, Nikon AM\u2019s Vice President of Technology.<\/p>\n

\"Nikon\"NikonNikon AM Technology Center in Long Beach, CA. Photo via Nikon AM.<\/p>\n

US Defense\u2019s Push to Scale Aeronautical AM<\/p>\n

US defense aeronautical programs face a specific and measurable constraint: metal components that have long depended on casting methods cannot be manufactured fast enough to meet wartime demand. Closing that gap has become a priority, pushing defense institutions to accelerate the qualification and adoption of additive manufacturing across flight-critical hardware. Purpose-built contracting mechanisms like Other Transition Agreements exist precisely to bypass the slower timelines of conventional procurement, pulling commercial AM capabilities into defense pipelines faster than traditional acquisition allows.<\/p>\n

That urgency is already translating into concrete investment across the US aeronautical supply chain. Velo3D<\/a> entered a $32.6 million OTA with DIU under Project FORGE to prototype and qualify AM components<\/a> intended to remove bottlenecks and enable higher production rates for a critical weapon system.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Similarly, 3D Systems<\/a> secured a $7.65 million U.S. Air Force<\/a> contract to advance large-format metal AM for high-temperature aerospace structures,<\/a> while Elementum 3D<\/a> was selected for the Air Force\u2019s Enterprise-Wide Agile Acquisition Contract, contributing high-performance materials and AM process knowledge to support air armament modernization<\/a> and weapons systems development. Each of these efforts navigates the same qualification barrier independently.\u00a0<\/p>\n

3D Printing Industry is inviting speakers for its 2026 Additive Manufacturing Applications (AMA) series, covering Energy, Healthcare, Automotive and Mobility, Aerospace, Space and Defense, and Software. Each online event focuses on real production deployments, qualification, and supply chain integration. Practitioners interested in contributing can complete the call for speakers form here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

To stay up to date with the latest 3D printing news, don\u2019t forget to subscribe to the 3D Printing Industry newsletter<\/a> or follow us on LinkedIn<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Explore the full Future of 3D Printing<\/a> and Executive Survey<\/a> series from 3D Printing Industry, featuring perspectives from CEOs, engineers, and industry leaders on the industrialization of additive manufacturing<\/a>, 3D printing industry trends 2026<\/a>, qualification, supply chains, and additive manufacturing industry analysis<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Featured image shows\u00a0Nikon AM Technology Center in Long Beach, CA. Photo via Nikon AM.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nikon AM Synergy, the engineering and manufacturing arm of Nikon Advanced Manufacturing, has secured an Other Transition Agreement…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":222174,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[101486,101487,101488,101489,101490,131,133,132,101491,101492,101493,101494,101495],"class_list":["post-222173","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-long-beach","tag-3d-systems","tag-defense-innovation-unit","tag-derek-mcbride","tag-dr-behrang-poorganji","tag-elementum-3d","tag-long-beach","tag-long-beach-headlines","tag-long-beach-news","tag-nikon-advanced-manufacturing","tag-nikon-am-synergy","tag-nikon-slm-solutions","tag-us-air-force","tag-velo3d"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222173","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=222173"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222173\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/222174"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=222173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=222173"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=222173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}