Velo3D Becomes First Qualified Additive Manufacturing Vendor for U.S. Army Ground Vehicles

Velo3D has been selected as the first qualified additive manufacturing (AM) vendor to support the U.S. Army Ground Vehicle Systems Center's campaign to accelerate qualified AM solutions across the Defense Industrial Base. The company said it met all GVSC qualification criteria in less than two weeks, a pace that industry observers say stands out against the long validation cycles typical of defense programs.

The selection was announced at the Military Additive Manufacturing Summit in Tampa and detailed in a company press release. Under the agreement, Velo3D and GVSC will work together to validate critical components printed on Velo3D's Sapphire family of standard and large-format advanced metal AM printers. Validation will focus on Aluminum CP1 and Inconel 718 materials. If validation is successful, the Velo3D AM alternatives will be made available to the U.S. Army Tank and Automotive Command for insertion into the Army supply chain to help relieve current sustainment bottle necks.

The speed of the qualification is the headline for many in the community. Bo Aller, commenting on Velo3D's social post, noted: "Velo3D qualifying with the U.S. Army GVSC in less than two weeks is impressive. Especially in defense programs where supply chain gaps often come from long validation cycles, not just part production limits." That sentiment reflects broader industry interest in turning rapid metal printing into operational advantage for repairs, spares, and low volume production for ground vehicles.

Velo3D framed the move as part of a broader push to provide faster production options for national security customers. Dr. Arun Jeldi, Velo3D CEO, said: "Velo3D is humbly honored to support the U.S. Army and be the first of an important cohort of industrial base partners facilitating GVSC's rapid advancement of sustainment technologies at the speed of war - soldiers should expect nothing less from a company like ours." He added: "Our Rapid Production Solution is a proven solution the Department of War and the broader national security community increasingly rely on to accelerate the delivery of critical advanced technologies."

Industry reports have also noted that the selection follows a Cooperative Research & Development Agreement with U.S. Army DEVCOM GVSC announced in mid‑January, and that the qualification criteria reportedly included DoW cybersecurity standards. The company has not published a timeline for completing validation, nor has it disclosed specific part numbers, contract values, or production volumes tied to the qualification.

For the 3D printing community, the immediate takeaway is practical: successful validation would open a formal pathway for Velo3D printers and metal workflows into TACOM-managed sustainment work, creating potential demand for large-format metal AM services, machine support, and qualified material processes. The next milestones to watch are the GVSC validation outcomes and any published part lists or timelines that would show when printed replacements move from testing to fielded supply.