First RoboFormed assembly to enter qualification for a defense missile system marks a major production milestone for Machina’s AI-enabled manufacturing infrastructure

LOS ANGELES: Machina, a leader in advanced manufacturing and robotics, today announced it has been awarded a qualification contract from Lockheed Martin in support of the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) program. The contract marks the first time an assembly produced in a Machina Factory has advanced to qualification for a defense missile system. The contract is managed under Machina Bellator, Machina’s defense subsidiary.

The contract underscores Machina’s growing role as a manufacturing collaborator for critical defense weapons systems, delivering complex metal structures at the speed and scale that modern defense programs demand.

“The defense industrial base is under pressure to scale faster than legacy manufacturing allows,” said Edward Mehr, co-founder and CEO of Machina. “Missile programs are not constrained by design. They are constrained by production. Machina’s factory is built to address that constraint, forming and assembling complex metal structures directly from digital design with dramatically shorter lead times.”

The assembly was produced at Machina’s Los Angeles facility using an integrated set of advanced manufacturing capabilities, including its proprietary RoboForming technology and precision laser welding. Advancing a RoboFormed assembly to missile qualification validates the readiness of Machina Factories for mission-critical defense applications.

“We are excited about this opportunity to support a vital weapon system for the United States and its allies,” said John Borrego, President of Machina Bellator. “This selection underscores the importance of advanced, agile manufacturing in strengthening defense readiness and delivering capability at speed.”

The contract will be supported through Machina Factory 3, the company’s first large-scale Intelligent Factory currently under development. The 200,000-square-foot facility is designed to house up to 50 RoboCraftsman cells and support high-rate production of mission-critical metal structures for defense programs including JASSM. By integrating forming, machining, welding, and assembly under one roof, Machina Factory 3 compresses production timelines from months to days.

“Lockheed Martin Ventures invested in Machina Labs for its powerful combination of speed, flexibility, and scalability, and our teams have worked closely to transition key capabilities to production,” said Chris Moran, vice president and general manager, Lockheed Martin Ventures. “Machina’s work advances capacity, reduces risk, and helps ensure we can deliver mission-critical capabilities at scale. We congratulate Machina on this milestone as a supplier, which further strengthens an innovative and resilient American Defense Industrial Base.”

Lockheed Martin is a strategic collaborator of Machina and an investor through Lockheed Martin Ventures.

About Machina
Machina is reinventing metal manufacturing with AI and robotics. The company builds and operates intelligent factories capable of rapidly forming and assembling aerospace- and defense-grade metal structures directly from digital design. Its flagship platform, RoboCraftsman™, combines advanced robotics, machine learning, and proprietary RoboForming™ technology to deliver software-defined manufacturing at production scale. Founded in 2019 and based in Los Angeles, Machina serves the U.S. Department of War, defense primes, and mobility leaders. For more information, visit machinalabs.ai.

Fonte: Business Wire