Shipbuilders put 3D printed parts on a US aircraft carrier and submarine. The Navy liked the results.

• The US Navy and the shipbuilding industry is making progress on 3D printing parts for warships.
• 3D printing saves time and money on building and repairs, the service said.
• Navy leadership believes additive manufacturing can also help it bypass traditional supply chains.

The US Navy is betting on 3D printing parts to speed up work on the fleet while also cutting costs after two wins last year, the service said recently.

A Naval Sea Systems Command release said that additive manufacturing moved "from a promising capability to a warfighting capability in 2025."

Two examples the Navy said were among the service's most significant achievements last year involved putting 3D-printed parts on its most in-demand and complex vessels.

In one instance, top shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries installed a 3D printed metal valve component inside a pump room on the new Ford-class aircraft carrier USS Enterprise.

Similar plans are in place for manifolds on the coming USS Doris Miller as well, replacing the traditional casting methods that take longer to complete.

"What started as a proof of concept quickly turned into a tangible result that is making a meaningful difference to improve efficiencies in shipbuilding," Dave Bolcar, the Newport News Shipbuilding division vice president of engineering and design, said afterward.

And in another milestone last year, HII's Newport News Shipbuilding installed a 3D printed part on a Virginia-class submarine. The part met the standards for submarine components that need to withstand operations in the deep sea.

With successes making construction and repair work easier and cheaper, the Navy expects to expand 3D printing across the service as a new solution for long-standing challenges.

More 3D printing in the military

Across the US military, additive manufacturing is moving from experimentation to everyday use.

Army leadership expects this technology to be essential for soldiers building and repairing drones on the front lines, while Marine leaders view it as a way to lighten logistical loads. The Navy sees shipboard and port-based 3D printers as a way to keep vessels operational while deployed. And the Air Force is eyeing 3D printing to produce lighter parts and speed up aircraft repairs.

For the Navy, the logistics of sourcing parts — whether for new ship construction or repairs — can be a hassle, often requiring the purchase of an entire system to replace a single component. Long delivery times and material shortages can further delay repairs and stretch schedules.

Navy leadership has suggested that additive manufacturing can also be the service's workaround for shipbuilding suppliers with long lead times and intellectual property concerns.

In 2024, Rear Adm. Jonathan Rucker, program executive officer for the Navy's attack submarines, told contractors at a conference: "If you are a supplier, and your lead time is too long, and you refuse to work with us to give us your tech and help us figure out how to reverse-engineer it and how to manufacture it, not that we're trying to take it from you, we're going to figure it out."

Other uses of 3D printing in Navy maintenance centers saw technicians saving money and time on repairing vessels. In August, the Navy's Southeast Regional Maintenance Center produced a chilled water pump cooling rotor for an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer. The part wasn't available to purchase separately from an entire new pump in the service's supply system, so the team adapted, and the cost savings were substantial.

The prototype cost $17.63, and the final blade cost $131.21, said the service. Replacing the entire rotor would've cost $316,544.16. The rotors are used on ships across the fleet, meaning that this method could be implemented for more repair jobs on other vessels.

The Navy anticipates further use of additive manufacturing, certifying more components for this process. It'll continue to spread to US shipyards, manufacturing plants, and support organizations, Adm. Jim Kilby, then the acting chief of US naval operations, said last year.

"Every time we 3D print a part that would otherwise take 40 weeks to procure, we are putting more capability back into the field," he said at the time. "That is real, measurable readiness."