UK MoD announces four-company consortium for Spiral 3 of Project Tampa

A 3D-printed rear step bracket for the Mastiff armoured vehicle, produced by NP Aerospace in Spiral 1. (NP Aerospace)

Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land (RBSL), NP Aerospace, Babcock, and Thales were awarded the contract for Spiral 3 of the UK Ministry of Defence's (MoD's) additive manufacturing (AM) programme Project Tampa on 4 June, Wing Commander Jon McMahon, project manager for Tampa, confirmed to Janes.

Spiral 3

Spiral 3 is the third advanced AM challenge within Project Tampa. The consortium of companies that won the tender will now need to prove they all have the capability to 3D-print parts to the same standard to show the resilience of the supply chain as part of that challenge.

The spiral has also been split into two parts, with part 3A involving the UK companies and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) working with UK small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to produce the same parts to the same standard. Spiral 3B involves the companies demonstrating expansion of their supply chains to the US to produce those same parts internationally to the same standard. The Manufacturing Technology Division within the US Department of Defense (DoD) is working alongside the UK MoD on the spiral.

“Alongside our Spiral 3B, the US run[s its] own project called Allied Additive Manufacturing Interoperability [AAMI]. We are running in parallel two national projects and the aspiration is, at the end of it, to create a joint UK-US report on how to do global additive manufacturing,” explained Wg Cdr McMahon, who has background in both electrical and mechanical engineering and assumed the role of project manager for Tampa in August 2024.