QinetiQ to provide onsite 3D printing for Royal Navy submarines at Clyde

Defence prime QinetiQ is set to provide onsite additive manufacturing support for the Royal Navy’s submarine fleet at HM Naval Base Clyde in Scotland.

The arrangement, delivered through two contracts with the Submarine Delivery Group’s (SDG) Additive Manufacturing team, is designed to enable rapid production of submarine components directly at the point of need.

The new facility will feature the Additive Manufacturing All In One (AIO) solution and the Market Access Cell (MAC). These capabilities will allow both QinetiQ staff and Royal Navy submariners to manufacture and deliver parts at the dockside, aiming to reduce delays in submarine maintenance.

QinetiQ will operate the containers based at Faslane, with support from Royal Navy personnel.

QinetiQ UK defence chief executive Will Blamey 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.”

For more technically complex or specialised components, QinetiQ intends to reverse engineer existing parts and work with an accredited network of UK-based small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises.

This network includes experts from engineering sectors such as Formula 1, helping bring a range of technical skills to the programme.

Additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing, constructs components by building up material layer by layer from a digital design.

Unlike traditional manufacturing, which removes material from a solid block, additive manufacturing can produce complex parts quickly and with less material waste.

The SDG and QinetiQ are also participating in international activities as part of the AUKUS submarine partnership.

As part of this collaboration, they are working alongside US and Australian submarine sectors to develop common technical and material standards.

This is intended to allow allied nations to share advanced manufacturing resources and mutually recognise one another’s qualified components.

QinetiQ contributed to a maintenance period in March 2026 for HMS Anson in Perth, Australia by designing and supplying replacement components using additive manufacturing within four weeks, a period noted as shorter than usual supply chain lead times.

In early 2026, a demonstration at HMAS Stirling in Australia involved QinetiQ UK, QinetiQ Australia, and Australian partners producing parts that were approved for use on HMS Anson.

Digital handheld scanners are used in the process to capture accurate models of existing components.

According to QinetiQ, items produced including those made from stainless steel are subject to appropriate safety, legal, and quality checks.

A trilateral review across the UK, US, and Australia is currently underway to map out advanced manufacturing capabilities and to identify areas needing development.

Information from this review will inform future Defence Standards for material requirements and may allow additive manufacturing to be expanded to higher-risk submarine parts such as valves.

Royal Navy and SDG additive manufacturing lead, commander Max said: “Additive manufacturing… is absolutely about supplementing and augmenting current manufacturing to support submarine maintenance.

“It’s just another option that Chief Engineers and Duty Holders have when considering solutions — and one that will only become more capable over time.”