AMufacture components now across all four military domains

A UK additive manufacturer is now producing components for uncrewed systems operating in all four military domains - air, land, sea and under water - as defence becomes its fastest growing sector.

Portsmouth-based AMufacture announced the milestone at a national uncrewed systems supply chain event in Swindon where the Ministry of Defence confirmed the opening of Europe’s largest drone testing facility.

CEO Craig Pyser, who also serves as chair of AMUK, the additive manufacturing industry’s trade association, said Swindon’s emergence as the UK’s drone hub was “exactly the kind of sovereign capability development the country needs.”

Swindon MP Will Stone today confirmed the opening of the indoor drone testing facility at Panattoni Park, which is expected to create hundreds of new jobs.

Pyser said: “Today’s confirmation of Europe’s largest uncrewed testing facility is a significant moment, it signals that the UK is not just talking about defence innovation, it is building the infrastructure to deliver it at scale and agile SMEs are already producing what’s needed.”

Like all suppliers operating in the defence sector, AMufacture is bound by strict confidentiality obligations. However, the company confirmed its components are in active use in military theatres around the world, supporting both MOD and NATO-linked programmes.

“AMufacture is now producing 3D printed components across all four domains identified in the government’s Strategic Defence Review. That’s on land, in the air, under water and on the maritime surface.

“Twelve months ago defence was not among our top sectors. Today it is our largest. That tells you everything about the pace of change in this market.”

The government’s Strategic Defence Review (SDR) committed more than £4 billion for autonomous systems and identified sovereign supply chain resilience as a national priority.

The Swindon event, organised by SDO Associates as part of its Uncrewed Systems Network, brought together government, industry and academia to address precisely the supply chain challenges, component sourcing, production surge capacity and design for supply assurance, that additive manufacturing is uniquely placed to solve.

Pyser added: “The conversation in Swindon today was about how the UK builds a supply chain that can scale at the pace operational demand requires, without the tooling lead times, the international dependencies and the challenges which can beset traditional manufacturing.

“Additive manufacturing is no longer to be considered as a future solution to that problem. It is the solution that exists right now and we are already delivering it.”