The Australian original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of wire additive manufacturing (WAM) systems, AML3D, has made expansion into the US defense market the cornerstone of its business strategy since pivoting a couple of years ago from its origins as a contract manufacturer.Now, the company is making moves into the UK defense market that echo how it began to make inroads into the US defense industrial base (DIB) in 2023.AML3D announced that it has landed a contract with UK defense giant BAE Systems worth A$830,000 (~$531,000) for 8.5 tons of Nickel Aluminum Bronze (NAB) feedstock.
Notably, one of AML3D’s first contracts with the US Navy, awarded in March 2023, was for the characterization of NAB for the US submarines program.Since then, AML3D has continued to rack up sales in the US to customers, including leading US shipbuilding firm Austal USA.Indeed, the same day as its announcement of the BAE Systems deal, AML3D announced that it had installed its second custom ARCEMY 6700 machine — the largest system the company makes — at the US Navy AM Center of Excellence operated by Austal USA in Danville, Virginia.
In November 2024, the company announced that it had raised around $20 million to back its US and European expansion: $8 million of that went towards AML3D’s opening of its own center of excellence in Ohio, with plans to open a similar facility in Europe.In January of this year, the company announced that it was successfully delivering copper-nickel Virginia-class submarine tailpiece prototypes to the US Navy at an accelerated pace.Collaboration on the Virginia-class submarine is the foundation of the Australia-UK-US (AUKUS) trilateral security partnership, suggesting part of the rationale behind AML3D’s deal with BAE Systems.
Nickel Aluminum Bronze part 3D printed using AML3D’s wire additive manufacturing process for BAE Systems.In a press release about AML3D’s expansion into the UK defense market with an NAB wire sale to BAE Systems, the company’s CEO, Sean Ebert, said, “AML3D has been developing its relationship with the BAE Systems for over a year.It is very exciting to see that work translate into an initial contract from BAE Systems.
It is even more exciting that this contract is planned to be just the first and I look forward to giving updates on additional contracts as the program progresses.AML3D is moving into the next phase of our growth strategy, which includes leveraging the extraordinary growth and demand we are experiencing within the U.S.Navy’s Submarine Industrial Base to expand into the Australia and the UK Defense sectors.
Beyond this BAE Systems contract, AML3D is developing opportunities with other companies supporting the UK Defense sector.And while winning Defense contracts can take time, I am confident that we will be in a position to announce additional orders from the UK and Australian defense sectors to complement the huge momentum we are seeing in the U.S.” AML3D’s Arcemy printer.AML3D has, in fact, been a partner with BAE Systems Maritime Australia, a division of the UK defense prime, since 2021, when it was tapped to produce and test parts for the Royal Australian Navy’s future Hunter-class frigate.
The company clearly has a knack for leveraging its ability to navigate the unique relationship between the maritime industrial bases of the three AUKUS nations.That relationship is only poised to expand as the Trump administration makes shipbuilding a key priority in its reshoring policies, with the White House issuing an executive order, “Restoring America’s Maritime Dominance,” a week after the infamous “Liberation Day.” While Australia has not been exempt from President Trump’s chaotic tariff rhetoric, it is likely that a reminder of the internal hierarchy shaping AUKUS accounts for the spirit behind Australia’s otherwise baffling inclusion on the trade war enemy list (a list which, to be fair, so far includes everybody).All that aside, given what AML3D has been able to do in the US from its starting point with a materials characterization contract, the future looks bright for the company’s positioning in the UK defense market.
AML3D has even already shown that it can diversify from defense into other strategically critical areas like energy, with the announcement of a machine sale to the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) in December 2024.Images courtesy of AML3D Subscribe to Our Email Newsletter Stay up-to-date on all the latest news from the 3D printing industry and receive information and offers from third party vendors.Print Services Upload your 3D Models and get them printed quickly and efficiently.
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