Onsite Additive Manufacturing Accelerates Royal Navy Submarine Maintenance

QinetiQ’s additive manufacturing expertise is supporting a new onsite capability at HM Naval Base Clyde, designed to accelerate maintenance timelines for the Royal Navy’s submarine fleet.

Delivered through two contracts with the Submarine Delivery Group’s Additive Manufacturing team, the initiative introduces the Additive Manufacturing All In One solution, a UK sovereign point-of-need capability, alongside its Market Access Cell. Together, the capabilities will enable submarine components to be manufactured to order onsite by QinetiQ and Royal Navy submariners, with parts delivered dockside to the boats at pace.

QinetiQ will operate the deployable engineering containers at Faslane, supported by Royal Navy submariners. More complex parts will be reverse engineered by QinetiQ and manufactured through an accredited network of UK-based additive and advanced manufacturing small and medium-sized enterprises, drawing on expertise from demanding engineering sectors including Formula 1.

The deployment follows QinetiQ’s additive manufacturing support for HMS Anson during a routine maintenance period in Perth, Australia, in March. During that work, QinetiQ rapidly designed the required critical components and delivered replacements in just four weeks, much quicker than normal supply chain lead times.

Will Blamey, Chief Executive, UK Defence, QinetiQ, said, “Our proven expertise in additive manufacturing combined with the latest technology being installed at HM Naval Base Clyde will see us print, scan and reverse engineer submarine parts on demand, at pace and at dockside, helping to get submarines back on operations more quickly.”

The deployment represents progress for the Submarine Maintenance Recovery Plan, which was launched in January.

First Sea Lord, General Sir Gwyn Jenkins, who launched the Submarine Maintenance Recovery Plan (SMRP) in January, stated, “The arrival of these deployable workshops marks a step forward in delivering the Submarine Maintenance Recovery Plan. This new technology has the potential to change how we maintain our submarines – cutting time alongside and increasing availability. It represents the real, tangible, progress the Royal Navy is making to strengthen the underwater fleet.”

Paul Duff, Associate Materials Scientist, QinetiQ, added, “Working in the Additive Manufacturing All-in-One facility alongside Royal Navy personnel will provide us with an incredible opportunity to show how additive manufacturing can transform routine submarine maintenance. It’s been very rewarding to see the facility come together in Farnborough and even more exciting to see it now deployed at HMNB Clyde.”

Commander Max, SDG Additive Manufacturing Lead, commented, “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.”