U.S. defense contractors are increasingly adopting metal 3‑D printing to produce ramjet and scramjet engines used in hypersonic missiles. Companies such as Aerojet Rocketdyne, Oursa Major, and Lockheed Martin, in partnership with Velo3D, are using the technology to fabricate highly complex parts that would be difficult, time‑consuming, and expensive to make with traditional methods.
Oursa Major has said that AI‑driven metal 3‑D printing has accelerated the development of the Havoc hypersonic missile and the liquid‑fuel Draper rocket engine, while also speeding up the production of solid‑fuel engines. The company claims that a modular manufacturing approach enables rapid design changes and scalable production, potentially helping to address strategic munitions shortages and lower the cost of hypersonic missile production in the United States.