Nanjixiong learned that on October 19, 2026, the U.S. Department of Defense released its FY2026–2031 Manufacturing Technology (ManTech) Strategy. It formally renames the long-standing “valley of death” in military technology transition as the “transition corridor,” and identifies technology transition and adoption as one of four strategic priorities.
The strategy places additive manufacturing in its own entry under “Advanced Manufacturing and Materials,” alongside high-performance materials, friction stir welding, and cold spray. Its central vision is distributed production: digital design files would be securely sent to certified additive manufacturing cells or automated production lines across the United States, and even to forward locations, replacing some physical inventory with digital delivery. Cold spray would support nearby repair of equipment.
The strategy notes that a 3D-printed part can still be valuable even if its unit price exceeds that of a casting or machined part, if it avoids an 18-month wait, returns a grounded platform to service, or provides surge capacity. The Joint Additive Manufacturing Working Group (JAMWG) remains the Department of Defense's coordinating body for additive manufacturing, and America Makes remains its Manufacturing Innovation Institute.
Notably, the new strategy sets no quantitative targets: it specifies no number of certified AM parts, production sites, or transition-cycle metrics for 2031. It also cites the UK's TAMPA project as a warning: print files can become obsolete as equipment is updated, and different manufacturers' machines can produce different results from the same process.
Nanjixiong's observations
The shift from “laboratory demonstration” to “factory production” sends a clear signal. However, transferable qualification for distributed additive manufacturing, vendor lock-in, and digital permissions remain barriers to implementation.
AI-translated from an article by Kuaixiong on Nanjixiong, originally published on 2026-10-20. Text and images retain the original source attribution.
Read the original Chinese article |
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