ASC and Austal have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on additive manufacturing (AM) technologies and workforce development, to strengthen Australia’s sovereign naval capability.
“Additive manufacturing offers transformative potential for Australia’s maritime industry — enabling faster production, improved part performance, and greater flexibility in shipbuilding, maintenance and sustainment,” ASC Chief Capability Officer, Danielle Bull, said.
“At ASC, we are already investigating ways to further integrate AM into our sustainment operations. This partnership with Austal will accelerate our efforts to scale these capabilities and embed AM into the broader Australian supply chain, improving resilience, reducing lead times, and enhancing the performance and maintainability of critical components.”
Signed at the 2025 Indo Pacific International Maritime Exposition in Sydney, the partnership will advance the use of 3D printing in shipbuilding and submarine sustainment, with the hopes of strengthening Australia’s domestic AM supply chain to support both the Collins Class and US-built Virginia Class submarines.
“This partnership builds on our long-term investments into advanced manufacturing,” Austal Chief Technology Officer, Glenn Callow, highlighted.
“As early as 2020, Austal has worked with partners to align 3D printing technologies with the demands of its maritime customers. With this new partnership, we will continue efforts to uplift Australia’s shipbuilding and sustainment capability across the supply chain.”
It will also support workforce development through training and upskilling in advanced manufacturing technologies.
“It represents a tremendous opportunity for the AM CoE to share the knowledge, capabilities, and experience – our collective ‘lessons learned’ – with Austal Australia, ASC, and their AM partners,” Austal USA’s Vice President for Submarines and Advanced Technologies, Don Hairston, stated.
Austal USA’s Advanced Technologies division have adopted AM , operating the US Navy’s Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence (AM CoE) in collaboration with BlueForge Alliance. The facility has supported the qualification and scaling of AM parts for defence applications, including submarine platforms.