New center uses add-on parts to streamline UAS manufacturing
San Diego – September 21, 2022 – General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI), a global leader in the design and manufacture of unmanned aerial systems (UAS), radar, electro-optical and related mission systems solutions, has established a new Center of Excellence . Its Additive Design and Manufacturing (AD&M). The center focuses on rapid reactive manufacturing of GA-ASI’s suite of UAS, fully functional and flight-ready additive manufacturing (AM) applications, research and development, large-scale tooling, and next generation of flight hardware.
Over the past decade, GA-ASI has invested in the onboarding of additive manufacturing (AM) technology, leading the formation and rapid growth of a specialized AM division five years ago.
GA-ASI President David R. Alexander said: “Through our AD&M Center of Excellence, we use a structured and rigorous certification process for AM applications that offers a more positive business case than traditional manufacturing methods. The team at home is working to increase adoption of AM parts to the benefit of our aircraft and ultimately our customers.”
GA-ASI has qualified over 300 flight components across various AM modalities used in production. To develop and certify flyable AM applications, GA-ASI is the key element needed to move AM applications from the prototype stage (print once) to the production level stage (print always). We are expanding the AM ecosystem that consists of: ).
GA-ASI’s AM ecosystem has enabled us to advance repeatable and reliable production-grade 3D printing in-house. This is complemented by ecosystem-controlled processes, the establishment of application teams, and a well-defined expansion roadmap.
GA-ASI has several regular production operations at its AD&M Center of Excellence, but the demand for rapid response and low-rate manufacturing has led to the need for overflow production of thermoplastics and metals for complex end-uses. required the development of a strong AM manufacturing supply chain. parts.
By using AM parts on its new UAS platform, the MQ-9B, GA-ASI has saved more than $2 million in tooling costs for one aircraft by using approximately 240 AM parts on its aircraft platform. We estimate that we have saved more than $300,000 in recurring costs. Overall, the number of AM applications continues to grow rapidly, fueled by the AM ecosystem established at GA-ASI. As a result, aircraft built by the company already have over 10,000 additive manufacturing components, and his new MQ-9BSkyGuardian® and SeaGuardian® models lead the industry in the use of his AM parts.
About GA-ASI
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI), an affiliate of General Atomics, is a leading designer and manufacturer of proven and reliable remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) systems, radar, electro-optical and related mission systems. is a company that Predator® RPA series and Lynx® multimode radar. With more than 7 million flight hours, GA-ASI is a long-lasting endurance vehicle with the integrated sensor and data link systems necessary to achieve persistent flight that enables situational awareness and rapid strikes. and mission-capable aircraft. The company also manufactures various ground control stations and sensor control/image analysis software, provides pilot training and support services, and develops metamaterial antennas. For more information, please visit www.ga-asi.com. 
Avenger, Lynx, Predator, SeaGuardian and SkyGuardian are registered trademarks of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc.
