The USA’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) now treats additive manufacturing as critical defence infrastructure and officially prohibits the operation or procurement of additive manufacturing machines that are manufactured in, have software developed in, or are networked through China, Russia, Iran, or North Korea by the Department of Defense (DoD).
President Trump signed the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2026 into law this week. China, Russia, Iran and North Korea are considered ‘strategic adversaries’ of the United States.
It means the DoD and its suppliers will need a narrow national-interest waiver to use additive manufacturing systems made in or networked through the aforementioned countries (Sec. 880(c)). There are also prohibitions in place for the renewal of existing contracts for said products (Sec. 880(a)).
This edict does not concern machines operated or procured for testing, analysis, and training related to intelligence, electronic warfare, and information warfare operations, and the Secretary of Defense may otherwise waive the prohibition on a ‘case-by-case’ basis.
It comes as the NDAA and DoD seek to accelerate the application of additive manufacturing technology through an advanced manufacturing program that aims to qualify and approve up to one million parts (Sec. 220A(a)).
Section 220A of the NDAA says: “Not later than December 31, 2027, the Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the Secretaries of the military departments, shall aim to qualify and approve for manufacturing and delivery not fewer than 1,000,000 parts or components of the Department of Defense that use advanced manufacturing techniques, with funding subject to the availability of appropriations or other funds. In doing so, the Secretary shall ensure that expedited processes for adoption of advanced manufacturing products are utilized across the components of the Department of Defense and lifecycle phases for new and existing systems.”
Through this endeavour, there is mention of a program to additively manufacture ‘certain types of unmanned aerial systems’ no later than September 30, 2026 (Sec. 220A(b)). This effort will aim to certify new materials and processes to manufacture 25-100% of the parts of a small unmanned aerial system used as a tactical loitering munitions, a small unmanned aerial system used for surveillance and reconnaissance missions, and a small unmanned system used for logistics missions.
Sec. 220A(c) of the NDAA also remarks that, not later than September 30, 2026, the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment shall, in coordination with the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering and the Secretaries of the military departments, carry out a program to produce replacement parts for military systems with diminishing manufacturing sources and material shortages using advanced or additive manufacturing techniques. At least five parts will be selected for testing, evaluation and certification under the program. Test data will then be shared across all military departments with mechanisms for data reciprocity for results to be established.
Finally, updates to the NDAA confirm a program to additively manufacture parts for Ground Combat Systems (Sec. 220A(e)). Sustainment vulnerabilities in the ground equipment supply chain of the Army will be identified, with additive manufacturing deployed to repair, upgrade or modernise ground combat systems where applicable. Again, no less than five parts with long lead times will be selected and plans, in coordination with Army Development Command, will be developed to integrate additive manufacturing techniques and technologies in the design, production, and sustainment of next-generation combat vehicles and their technologies. Sec 220A(e) says: “The developed technologies should prioritise interoperability across military platforms and integration with other military services.”
Access the full National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2026 here.
Search for sections 220 and 880 to get the full detail on the most significant AM-related developments.
