3D Printing of Spares to be Trialled on RSAF A330MRTT Fleet

Under the terms of an agreement signed at Farnborough on 18 July, Airbus Defence & Space will collaborate with Singapore’s Defence Science & Technology Agency (DSTA) to develop 3D printing of spare parts for military aircraft. The technology will be trialled on the new fleet of A330 Multi-role Tanker Transport (MRTT) aircraft recently acquired by the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF), due to begin delivery in the near future.

“It is absolutely clear that digitalisation represents the future of military aircraft services and we are now at a point where we can begin to explore the most promising techniques on operational fleets. We greatly appreciate the innovative approach of DSTA in going on this journey with us [….] Following this first agreement on 3D-printing, we have further agreed to collaborate on data analytics for predictive maintenance. The collaboration will add on to the development of Airbus’s new SmartForce suite of maintenance data analytics launched at Farnborough,” commented Head of Military Aircraft Services at Airbus Defence and Space, Stephan Miegel.

SmartForce is a suite of services to enable operators to exploit aircraft data to improve troubleshooting, optimise maintenance effort, predict maintenance actions and plan smartly for material demand.