The U.S. Air Force has awarded a multi-million dollar contract to EXPANSIA to perform rapid comparison analysis of various aircraft platforms for the service branch’s Rapid Sustainment Office (RSO).
EXPANSIA will assess the KC-135, B-52, B-1, and E-3 aircraft and pinpoint potential candidates for additive manufacturing (AM) parts to boost supply chain efficiency and incorporate digital engineering programs.
The contract also includes the development of an organic manufacturing capability expected to enable the complete use of material processing information and repeatability and create a roadmap for Air Force part assessment. Under this contract, EXPANSIA will apply commercial airworthiness-certified printing processes, methods, and procedures to assist with the assessment of AM part viability and help identify use cases to determine AM part families for more efficient AM adoption at scale for polymer and metal printed parts.
CEO Adam Jarnagin stated that the focus of EXPANSIA is to provide engineering and integration expertise regarding next-generation additive manufacturing, which holds tremendous promise to support the Air Force’s goal of scaling AM, increasing cost savings, and enhancing fleet readiness.
This contract win follows a full and open competition that secured EXPANSIA a partnership with the USAF Rapid Sustainment Office, under which the enterprise is developing the Always Guaranteeing Operationally Ready Aircraft (AGORA) Digital Threat prototype for additive manufacturing.
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