Phillips Corporation deploys containerized hybrid AM/CNC system on USS Essex at RIMPAC 2026
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Originally reported by The MachineMaker
Phillips Corporation is demonstrating a containerized hybrid manufacturing system aboard the USS Essex (LHD-2) during the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2026 exercise, supporting the Naval Postgraduate School's Distributed Advanced Manufacturing Experiment. The system integrates a Haas TM-1P CNC machining center with Meltio's wire-laser metal deposition (DED) technology, enabling both additive repair and subtractive finishing within a single deployed environment. The initiative, run through the Consortium for Advanced Manufacturing Research and Education (CAMRE) and facilitated by FLEETWERX, aims to assess whether expeditionary manufacturing can reduce reliance on conventional supply chains for critical metal parts. Brian Kristaponis, President of Phillips Additive Manufacturing Solutions, noted the exercise tests the practical sustainment value of producing or repairing mission-critical components near the point of need.
This deployment fits a recurring pattern in defense AM: the shift from isolated printer demonstrations to integrated, containerized workcells that combine additive and subtractive capability for field repair. Unlike earlier naval AM experiments that focused on polymer parts or single-process metal systems, this hybrid cell addresses a harder problem - restoring worn or damaged metal components with post-additive machining tolerances. The defense vertical has been politically accelerated since 2025, and exercises like RIMPAC serve as the qualification proxy for technologies that must prove reliability under operational constraints rather than lab conditions. Phillips Corporation, historically a machine tool distributor and integrator, is positioning itself as a systems-level provider for the U.S. Navy's distributed logistics vision, competing indirectly with defense-focused AM integrators and directly with the notion that additive alone can solve field repair without CNC finishing.
From a practical standpoint, the key test is not whether the system can make a part, but whether the workflow fits the skill profile of deployed maintenance teams and the time constraints of real repair scenarios. Phillips must demonstrate that the hybrid cell reduces total repair cycle time compared to waiting for a replacement part, and that the wire-DED deposition quality meets naval engineering standards without requiring metallurgical lab support at sea. If the RIMPAC trial yields documented repair cases with measurable time savings, it strengthens the case for broader adoption across the fleet. If the results are ambiguous or limited to simple geometries, the concept will remain a pilot rather than a procurement program.
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