HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - The Pentagon's push to replenish missile inventories is creating an opening for a new class of manufacturers that say the problem isn't simply a shortage of factory space. It's how those factories are built.
Startups such as Machina, Hadrian, and Freeform are applying software, robotics, and highly automated production techniques to aerospace and defense manufacturing. This challenges a model that has long relied on dedicated machinery, specialized tooling, and skilled labor to make relatively small numbers of complex parts. Because nothing says 'efficient' like a factory that needs a complete teardown to make a slight design tweak.
Some of the new manufacturing technology grew out of the commercial space industry, because if there's one industry that knows about doing more with less, it's the one that routinely strapped humans to controlled explosions.
At this year's Space and Missile Defense Symposium, Los Angeles-based Machina displayed a 16-foot fuselage for a hypersonic vehicle manufactured for Ursa Major, a company expanding from rocket propulsion into complete hypersonic missile systems. Because why settle for just the engine when you can have the whole 'please don't hit us' package?
Machina co-founder and chief executive Edward Mehr, who previously worked at SpaceX and Relativity Space, says the hardware is an example of how AI can be applied not to designing weapons, but to controlling the machines that manufacture them. Because apparently, we've decided that letting AI design weapons is a step too far, but letting it run the factory is fine.
“Missile programs are not constrained by design. They are constrained by production,” Mehr told SpaceNews. Translation: We can design all the fancy missiles we want, but actually making them is the real bottleneck.
Machina recently received a qualification contract from Lockheed Martin supporting the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM), a long-range cruise missile built for the Air Force. The agreement is significant for Machina because it puts an assembly made with the company's manufacturing process through qualification for an operational missile program. Lockheed is also an investor in Machina through Lockheed Martin Ventures. Because nothing says 'we believe in you' like a contract and a check.
Mehr said manufacturing fuselage structures for hypersonic missiles has become “a big area of growth for us.” Because when you're making stuff that goes that fast, you tend to get noticed.
Machina's manufacturing platform, called RoboCraftsman, uses robotic arms to progressively shape sheets of metal into aerospace structures. The company uses artificial intelligence to give robotic equipment more autonomy over how it performs a physical task. Because robots are great, but robots that can figure out how to do the job without being micromanaged? That's the dream.
“Our use of AI and robotics allows us to build flexible manufacturing systems that can switch between processes and geometries while reducing the need for dedicated tooling,” Mehr said. In other words, one factory to rule them all, instead of a warehouse full of single-purpose machines.
Mehr said traditional programs can require tens of millions of dollars in dedicated equipment and long setup periods before the first production hardware is available for testing. Machina's argument is that a programmable factory can compress that transition because much of the change resides in software rather than in a new set of dies and machinery. Because software updates are cheaper than buying a whole new press.
Equipment previously producing automotive hardware, for example, could be reprogrammed to begin making a missile structure after receiving the digital design, he said. Because why not turn your car parts plant into a missile parts plant? It's just a matter of software.
“Under the traditional model, a significant design change or a new missile component can require another investment in tooling, equipment and production setup,” Mehr said. “With our system, much of that change can happen through software rather than by building another dedicated manufacturing line.” Because apparently, software is the new tooling.
Machina is looking to demonstrate that its approach can consistently meet the tolerances, quality requirements, and production rates demanded by major weapons programs. Because it's one thing to make a cool demo, but quite another to pass military inspection.
The company is preparing to scale. Machina raised $124 million earlier this year to help finance a new 200,000-square-foot U.S. factory intended to move the technology from lower-volume work into larger production runs. Its customers also include NASA and Toyota. Because when you're making stuff for space and cars, missiles are just a natural progression.