TORRANCE, Calif. — A cruise-missile airframe is being 3D-printed before my eyes. The AI-driven system, the size of a shipping container, hums as it stacks layer on layer of aluminum and proprietary advanced metals.
Why it matters: This white-floored factory at Divergent Technologies, just outside L.A., is a window into the American arsenal of the future.
Each of Divergent's printers, engineered and manufactured in the U.S., can produce hundreds of these missile airframes each year. They're part of a new generation of "low-cost" missiles that are roughly one-tenth the cost of a legacy system.
Why it matters: This white-floored factory at Divergent Technologies, just outside L.A., is a window into the American arsenal of the future.
Each of Divergent's printers, engineered and manufactured in the U.S., can produce hundreds of these missile airframes each year. They're part of a new generation of "low-cost" missiles that are roughly one-tenth the cost of a legacy system.
- The finished missiles, including parts from other contractors, run $200,000 to $500,000. Legacy standard missiles range from $2 million to $6 million each.
