VulcanForms, Specter Aerospace plan U.S. hypersonic weapons factory

VulcanForms and Specter Aerospace plan to build a dedicated U.S. factory for airbreathing hypersonic weapons, expanding an existing development relationship into a manufacturing operation intended to produce complete weapons at scale, the companies said Sept. 15.

The partners are already using both companies’ production-ready facilities while they evaluate potential sites nationwide for the future plant. The intended scope includes manufacturing and complete-weapon integration for hypersonic munitions, interceptors and cruise missiles.

Specter has used VulcanForms’ 3D printing, engineering and high-volume manufacturing expertise in its hypersonic vehicle development. Under the expanded partnership, Specter would bring nearly a decade of work on airbreathing hypersonic missiles and targets with the Pentagon, along with its own production and testing capabilities, the announcement said.

The proposed factory would not be a metal-printing operation alone. VulcanForms combines additive manufacturing with precision machining, automation, inspection and proprietary software in its U.S. facilities. The partners said the planned operation would draw on additive manufacturing, design and physical AI capabilities to scale production and lower costs.