QinetiQ has installed a new additive manufacturing facility at HM Naval Base Clyde, aimed at cutting maintenance time for the Royal Navy's submarine fleet by enabling components to be printed and delivered dockside on demand.

Delivered through two contracts with the Submarine Delivery Group's (SDG) Additive Manufacturing team, the new capability combines an "All In One" (AIO) solution, a UK sovereign, point-of-need manufacturing system, with a Market Access Cell (MAC) for more complex parts. Together they allow submarine components to be manufactured to order onsite by QinetiQ and Royal Navy submariners, rather than relying on conventional supply chains.

The AIO facility consists of two specialist containers, designed and built by QinetiQ at its Cody Technology Park headquarters in Farnborough, UK, before being moved to Faslane, where they will be operated by QinetiQ with support from Royal Navy submariners. One container handles reverse engineering, scanning parts to produce a digital blueprint, while the neighbouring container houses polymer printing technology to manufacture the redesigned parts.

For components too complex for onsite production, the Market Access Cell will see QinetiQ reverse engineer parts at specialist UK facilities, then share the resulting digital blueprints with an accredited network of UK and Australian additive and advanced manufacturing SMEs, drawing on expertise from sectors including Formula 1, for production. QinetiQ will then apply its engineering and platform knowledge to help the SDG qualify these components for reintroduction into the supply chain.

The technology has already been proven operationally. In March, QinetiQ's additive manufacturing capability supported a routine maintenance period for HMS Anson during a visit to Perth, Australia, rapidly designing and delivering replacement critical components within four weeks, considerably faster than normal supply chain lead times.

Will Blamey, chief executive of UK Defence at QinetiQ, said the company's additive manufacturing expertise, combined with the new technology at HM Naval Base Clyde, would allow parts to be printed, scanned and reverse engineered on demand at dockside, helping submarines return to operations more quickly.

First Sea Lord General Sir Gwyn Jenkins, who launched the Submarine Maintenance Recovery Plan (SMRP) in January, described the arrival of the deployable workshops as a step forward in delivering that plan, saying the technology has the potential to change how the Royal Navy maintains its submarines, cutting time alongside and increasing availability.

Paul Duff, associate materials scientist at QinetiQ, said it had been rewarding to see the facility come together in Farnborough and exciting to see it now deployed at HMNB Clyde. Commander Max, SDG additive manufacturing lead, said enabling engineers to produce components onsite would reduce dependence on complex supply chains, accelerate repair timelines, and improve submarines' material state and availability.

The facility forms part of the wider SMRP, launched in January to address availability challenges across the Royal Navy's submarine fleet.

The long-term ambition is for additive and advanced manufacturing to become business as usual across the submarine build, in-service, and disposal programmes. Future developments include qualifying higher-risk components, such as hull valves, through trilateral Defence Standards; optimising component designs digitally (not simply reproducing legacy parts, but improving performance, fatigue life, and other characteristics such as reducing weight); recycling additive materials recovered from decommissioned submarines; and embedding additive manufacturing skills into training at the newly opened Royal Navy Submarine Training Centre at HMNB Clyde.