US Defense firm Lockheed Martin is 3D printing key components for its new Mako hypersonic missile.
The company is leveraging metal additive manufacturing to produce the jet-fired missile’s guidance section and fins. This has reportedly unlocked significant time and cost savings.
According to Lockheed, the 3D printed guidance section is ten times faster to produce than conventional manufacturing methods, while being just 1/10th of the cost.
The Maryland-based defense and aerospace manufacturer has also reportedly expressed a willingness to produce the missile in the UK. Developing the weapon outside the US, which helped to fund initial work on Mako, would mark a departure from the company’s usual US-centered approach.
According to a report from The Telegraph, this technology-sharing initiative would be enabled by the Aukus agreement. A military alliance between the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia, Aukus was originally signed in 2021.
It initially sought to streamline the sharing of sensitive nuclear-powered submarine technology to combat the growing Chinese presence in the Pacific. However, the agreement also extends to sharing other critical weapons systems, including hypersonic missiles.
Work on Mako began in 2017, with the missile now at readiness level six plus, meaning it is ready for production. Lockheed says that Mako is “fast and it is ready now.”
Lockheed Martin 3D printing new hypersonic missile
Named after the world’s fastest shark, Mako is designed to strike time-sensitive targets and penetrate advanced air defenses by manoeuvring at hypersonic speeds. It is a multi-mission missile optimized for ground attack, maritime strike, and counter-air defense missions.
Weighing 1,300 pounds, Mako has been fit-checked externally on various aircraft including the F-35, F/A-18, F-16, F-15 and P-8. It has also been internally fit-checked for the F-22 and F-35C fighters and can be carried by any aircraft with 30-inch lugs. Its solid rocket motor (SRM) can accelerate Mako to Mach 5.
The missile was originally developed for the US Air Force’s Stand-in Attack Weapon (SiAW) program. Lockheed now sees potential for the system to arm submarines and warships.
Mako reportedly possesses a modular, open architecture design with interchangeable 60-kilogram warheads and homing systems. It is one of Lockheed’s first missiles to be designed in an entirely digital engineering ecosystem. This digital approach reportedly features an integrated, model-based function to support the weapons life cycle.
Additive manufacturing is being used to produce Mako’s guidance section and fin components. Lockheed reportedly turned to this “transformational process” to increase the speed and affordability of the missile manufacturing process.
This is not the first time the company has adopted additive manufacturing. Last year, Lockheed Martin collaborated with metal 3D printer manufacturer Velo3D and aerospace part inspection company Vibrant to test 3D printing hypersonic ramjet engines.
Working with the US Department of Defense’s (DoD) LIFT Institute, the companies 3D printed and assessed prototype components to determine if additive manufacturing can reliably produce certified mission-ready ramjet engines.
It had previously partnered with propulsion system manufacturer Aerojet Rocketdyne to produce a hypersonic scramjet engine with a 3D printed drive system. Additive manufacturing reportedly allowed the team to construct the engine with 95% fewer parts than previous models.
Mako missile to be made in the UK?
Speaking to The Telegraph at the 2024 Farnborough International Air Show, Tim Cahill, president for missiles and fire control at Lockheed, said technology sharing would allow Aukus nations to prioritise defense spending and meet tight budgets.
According to Cahill, the UK could “clearly contribute and become the master” of hypersonic weaponry. He added that Lockheed is willing to develop a “Mako-style” missile in the UK as part of these efforts.
Such an agreement could reportedly include partnering with British firms on production and supply chain management. This would offer an alternative to buying missiles from the US or building capabilities from scratch.
The UK is already working to develop its first advanced hypersonic missiles. The Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) Team Hypersonics (UK) is running a consortium of 90 organizations to achieve this goal. Ranging from universities to global aerospace firms, the entities are eligible to compete for eight contracts worth up to £1 billion.
Lockheed Martin has been named among those vying for funding alongside fellow defence manufacturers BAE Systems and Raytheon. With a deadline of 2030, additive manufacturing will likely be utilized to expedite the development and production of the UK’s new hypersonic weapons.
3D printing weapon systems
Additive manufacturing is being increasingly adopted to address the high demand for missiles. Within the US, A shortage of domestic suppliers is coupled with a need to restock domestic inventories and support Ukraine’s ongoing war efforts.
To meet this demand, the US Navy recently contracted rocket engine manufacturer Ursa Major to design, manufacture and hot-fire test a 3D printed SRM for the Standard Missile (SM) program.
Signed under the Naval Energetic Systems and Technologies (NEST) Program, the initiative seeks to develop a new 3D printable design for the Mk 104 dual rocket motor, which powers the SM-2, SM-3, and SM-6 missiles. It is hoped that a new design optimized for additive manufacturability will replace legacy Mk 104 models that are difficult to produce.
Through the contract, Ursa Major is leveraging its additive manufacturing-powered Lynx technology to design this next generation of SRMs on American soil.
Elsewhere, the UK is leveraging BAE’s metal 3D printing technology to develop its next-generation fighter jet, Tempest.
The company recently announced that additive manufacturing was playing a key role in producing the latest supersonic demonstrator for the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP). Project engineers have reportedly leveraged design for additive manufacturing (DfAM) when manufacturing structural parts. BAE previously claimed that 30% of the Tempest’s parts will be 3D printed.
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Featured image shows an engineer working on the new Mako missile. Photo via Lockheed Martin.
