The US Navy is testing distributed additive manufacturing — a kind of “network of mobile factories” on ships and bases — during the international RIMPAC 2026 exercises.
The project is being implemented by the Consortium for Advanced Manufacturing Research and Education (CAMRE) of the US Naval Postgraduate School, drawing on experience from the previous RIMPAC 2024 exercises. At that time, the team manufactured and installed a titanium pump bushing for a reverse osmosis unit aboard the amphibious ship USS Somerset at sea.
This time the scale is larger: additive manufacturing equipment will be deployed on at least four ships and at several locations across the Hawaiian Islands, connected into a single digital network.
The digital “heart” of the project is the Joint Advanced Manufacturing System (JAMS) platform, which accepts part fabrication requests, distributes production tasks among available network capacities, and tracks a spare part’s journey from printing to delivery. According to CAMRE program manager Chris Curran, full control over the digital manufacturing chain is critically important during large-scale exercises.
Instead of waiting weeks for parts through traditional supply channels, a unit commander will be able to submit a digital request, the system will identify the nearest qualified manufacturer in the network, the part will be produced directly in the area of operations, and delivered to forces on the ground by unmanned surface vehicles.
“A globally distributed manufacturing model gives commanders and program offices supply chain resilience,” said US Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel Michael Radigan, CAMRE’s subject matter expert for advanced manufacturing and repair.
Private companies have also joined the experiment. Phillips Federal is installing a containerized hybrid system aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD-2) based on a Haas TM-1P CNC machine combined with Meltio Blue wire laser metal deposition technology. The system allows for printing new parts, repairing worn components, and performing precision machining in a single production cycle.
“When critical parts are unavailable through normal supply channels, the ability to manufacture or repair a component closer to the point of need enhances combat readiness,” said Brian Christaponis, President of Phillips Additive Manufacturing Solutions.
RIMPAC 2026 is the world’s largest multinational maritime exercise, taking place from June 24 to July 31 near the Hawaiian Islands. It involves 35 countries, approximately 40 surface ships, five submarines, more than 140 aircraft, and 25,000 military personnel.
In addition to distributed spare parts manufacturing, the demonstration program includes onboard metal powder production aboard a Canadian vessel, additive manufacturing of counter-drone platforms, and delivery of parts by autonomous surface vehicles.