The UK’s Submarine Delivery Group, part of the Defence Nuclear Enterprise, has moved additive manufacturing from experimental tool to frontline maintenance capability, deploying on-site 3D printing workshops at HM Naval Base Clyde and establishing a dedicated team to reduce the supply chain delays that keep submarines alongside longer than necessary.
The SDG Additive Manufacturing team, established in February 2024 within the Platform Equipment Delivery Team, works with QinetiQ, the SDG Design Authority, and in-service teams to identify manufacturing solutions when components are unavailable or lead times are too long. A Market Access Cell manages incoming demand signals from ship’s staff and joint planning teams, triaging requests and coordinating the fastest route to a replacement part.
On-Site Manufacturing at HMNB Clyde
Shipping containers equipped with metal printing capability, scanning equipment, and dedicated engineering workspace have now arrived at HMNB Clyde. Two of the units are custom-designed by QinetiQ to the specific requirements of the Platform Equipment Delivery Team. For the first twelve months, QinetiQ staff will operate the facility alongside ship’s staff and the Submarine Flotilla Engineering Support Group, with ship’s staff also receiving direct training on the equipment.
Where no existing design file exists, common for legacy or one-off components, QinetiQ engineers use handheld scanners to capture precise measurements of parts on board and convert them into digital files ready for manufacture. The capability is particularly valuable for obsolete parts that are no longer commercially available within operational timescales.
“These deployable additive manufacturing workshops represent a significant advancement in how the Royal Navy supports submarine maintenance,” said Max, Commander in the Royal Navy and SDG Additive Manufacturing Lead. “By enabling engineers to produce components on-site, we are reducing dependence on complex supply chains and accelerating repair timelines, ultimately improving the submarine’s material state and availability.”
Backing the Submarine Maintenance Recovery Plan
The programme feeds directly into the Submarine Maintenance Recovery Plan, launched by the First Sea Lord in January 2026. First Sea Lord General Sir Gwyn Jenkins said the deployable workshops represent “real, tangible progress” in strengthening the underwater fleet, with the potential to cut time alongside and increase availability.
The long-term ambition extends beyond replacing legacy parts. Future development includes optimising component designs digitally to improve performance, fatigue life, and weight, recycling additive materials from decommissioned submarines, and embedding additive manufacturing skills into training at the newly opened Royal Navy Submarine Training Centre at HMNB Clyde. Higher-risk components such as hull valves are also in scope, pending qualification through trilateral Defence Standards.
AUKUS: A Shared Manufacturing Framework
Additive manufacturing is also becoming a coordination mechanism within the AUKUS partnership. The SDG is working with US and Australian submarine industrial bases to develop common material standards that would allow allied nations to share equipment and mutually recognise qualified components. An early demonstration came during a UK Submarine Maintenance Period at HMAS Stirling in Australia in early 2026, where QinetiQ UK and QinetiQ Australia produced additively manufactured parts approved for use on HMS Anson.
A trilateral advanced manufacturing landscape review is currently mapping existing capabilities across the United States, UK and Australia to identify gaps and inform the development of shared Defence Standards, a step toward qualifying higher-risk components across allied programmes.
“Additive manufacturing is not a silver bullet, and it does not replace traditional supply chain methods. But it is absolutely about supplementing and augmenting current manufacturing to support submarine maintenance. It’s just another option that Chief Engineers and Duty Holders have when considering solutions — and one that will only become more capable over time,” said Max.
Naval Maintenance Is Where 3D Printing Is Proving Its Value
The SDG’s deployment at HMNB Clyde is part of a broader pattern playing out across all three AUKUS partners, where the gap between what ageing fleets need and what traditional supply chains can still provide is being closed, increasingly, through AM at the point of need.
The US Navy has used AM to reverse-engineer parts for 40-year-old Ohio-class submarines, often in cases where original manufacturers have long since disappeared. When the USS Michigan’s trim and drain valves corroded beyond conventional replacement, the Navy’s Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence used laser powder bed fusion and wire arc additive manufacturing to fabricate replacements and generate digital design files, so the parts can now be printed on demand during future repair cycles.
Australia has been building its own additive manufacturing capability within the partnership for years. AML3D delivered components for the US Navy’s Virginia-Class nuclear submarine program in early 2025, with Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister describing the delivery as proof that “AUKUS is happening now.”
Across the three AUKUS nations, the underlying challenge is consistent: ageing fleets, shrinking conventional supply chains, and operational timelines that traditional manufacturing cannot meet. Additive manufacturing is emerging as the common answer.
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Featured image shows HMNB Clyde’s Additive Manufacturing Team leaders meet In front of their new workshops. Photo via UK Government.
