MELD Manufacturing awarded $975 million contract by the US Air Force
August 23, 2024
MELD Manufacturing Corporation, based in Christiansburg, Virginia, USA, has announced that it has been awarded a $975 million contract by the United States Air Force to support the Rapid Sustainment Office (RSO) in optimising the operational readiness of deployed assets.
The RSO, focused on enhancing readiness and sustainability across the US Air Force, has selected MELD for its solid-state metal Additive Manufacturing process. MELD’s technology enables the production of large-scale components using aerospace-grade materials. The company has successfully additively manufactured flight-critical components, achieving forging-level quality with materials such as Al-7075, Al-6061, and Ti-64.
This contract is in addition to the DoD and DoE investment in MELD machines. To date, the US Army, Air Force, NAVAIR, and NAVSEA have invested in MELD technology with the acquisition of multiple L3, K2, and CD-14 machines to support various government initiatives.
MELD has been integral to critical US Air Force projects, with the Air Force acquiring MELD machines and employing MELD technology in the development of UAV airframes. MELD is reportedly the only large-scale, solid-state metal Additive Manufacturing machine chosen by the RSO.
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