The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has launched the next phase of its additive manufacturing (AM) accelerator program Project TAMPA.
This phase, known as Spiral 3, is said to be focused on accelerating the adoption of AM within the defence supply chain and will be split into two parts. According to a post on LinkedIn from Alexander Champion, Additive Manufacturing Project Manager at the MoD, the first part, Spiral 3A, is designed to help improve equipment availability across the MoD with AM, and Spiral 3B will focus on growing AM understanding between United States Department of Defense (DoD) and UK MoD suppliers.
In a Q&A document from the UK's Strategic Command published in January, Project TAMPA Spiral 3B aims to 'prove the concept that could lead to the creation of a global supply chain of AM parts producers through the establishment UK/US bilateral use cases.' The document says £2 million has been pre-approved for Spiral 3, split equally across 3A and 3B.
Spiral 3 is said to be open to bids from OEMs and Primes who can produce parts for use in defence, namely those in short supply or otherwise obsolete. It specifically notes it will focus on parts that can either no longer be produced by or add no value from traditional methods, such as casting or forging. The document also notes it will be mainly looking at titanium and nickel applications but would not discount scalmalloys or polymers if they demonstrated significant benefits in comparison.
The project phase is open to bids from companies who have a UK presence for Spiral 3A, while US organisations that will participate in Spiral 3B will need to be members of America Makes. According to America Makes' project call announcement, the programme aims to establish AM equivalency and interoperability between the DoD and MoD supply chains with a specific focus on laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF).
Ben DiMarco, Technology Transition Director at America Makes commented, “By demonstrating AM equivalency and interoperability between the US and UK, we are advancing qualification methodologies for laser powder bed fusion while accelerating real-world implementation of these capabilities. This initiative highlights the power of collaboration in overcoming technical, regulatory, and supply chain challenges, ensuring AM delivers tangible benefits to the warfighter and allied defense operations.”
Project TAMPA has been set up to progress the use of AM and increase material availability across defence. Last November, defence manufacturer Babcock successfully delivered the first package of work for Project TAMPA. The team at Babcock has been working across multiple domains to 'deliver solutions for complex parts', including complex components for the L118 Light Gun, a 4.5 inch gun on the Type 23 frigate, and the torpedo launch system for both the Astute and Dreadnought class submarines.
