Manufacturing News
October 31, 2026
October 31, 2026 · Daviess County · Story 4 of 5
Kratos Adds a Giant Metal 3D Printer at Its Odon Hypersonics Plant Near Crane
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions purchased an AMCM M 8K large-format metal 3D printer from EOS, announced Oct. 27, for installation at its $50 million Indiana Payload Integration Facility in Odon, Daviess County, near Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane. The machine will produce test hardware for MACH-TB, the Air Force's hypersonic flight-test program where Kratos is prime contractor on a contract worth up to $1.45 billion. Kratos is only the second organization in Indiana to buy an M 8K, after ACMI, which operates near WestGate@Crane Technology Park.
This purchase builds a concrete additive-manufacturing cluster around NSWC Crane, where hypersonics hardware from Kratos and trusted-chip production from NHanced Semiconductors and Everspin now sit in the same Daviess County zip code. The sharper question is whether the Navy's new Project Peculiar Document pathway lets IPIF's printed parts get certified into Navy supply chains faster than traditional machining allows. If it does, Kratos turns from a producer of test hardware into an approved node in the Navy's distributed manufacturing network, an advantage over MACH-TB subcontractors like Leidos, Rocket Lab, and Stratolaunch that don't have comparable in-house additive capacity.
- Impact
- This purchase cements a real additive-manufacturing cluster forming around NSWC Crane, where hypersonics hardware (Kratos) and trusted-chip production (NHanced Semiconductors, Everspin) are now converging in the same Daviess County zip code. The sharper angle: the Navy's new Project Peculiar Document pathway could let IPIF's printed parts get certified into Navy supply chains faster than traditional machining allows, potentially turning Kratos from a test-hardware printer into an approved node in the Navy's distributed manufacturing network: a structural edge over MACH-TB subcontractors like Leidos, Rocket Lab, and Stratolaunch that don't have comparable in-house AM capacity.
- Watch
- Whether NSWC Crane certifies IPIF's printed parts under the Navy's streamlined AM qualification pathway, and the announcement of a first-production-parts date for MACH-TB hardware.
- For the huddle
As the NSWC Crane corridor builds out hypersonics and microelectronics side by side, are we positioned to supply components into that cluster, or are we competing against it for the same local STEM workforce?
Check both. The cluster is pulling skilled trades and engineering talent from the same Daviess County labor pool your plant draws from, so know whether you're a supplier candidate or a competitor for hires before Kratos and ACMI finish staffing up.
Sources
- Kratos Buys an AMCM M 8K to Increase Its AM Capacity in Indiana · 3dprint.com
Earlier coverage
From the brief, October 31, 2026
- Braun Fast-Tracks $116.5M in Indiana Utility Rate Relief from I&M and NIPSCO
- Delta Faucet Marks 70 Years at Greensburg Without New Capital Announced
- ITAMCO's Neidig Demands Written Cost Terms Before Plymouth Annexation Proceeds
- Kratos Adds a Giant Metal 3D Printer at Its Odon Hypersonics Plant Near Crane
- AkzoNobel Completes $60M Powder Coatings Expansion, Warsaw Output Up 30%
This story
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