Divergent Adaptive Production System for Rapid, Flexible Aircraft Sustainment

In this Phase II effort, Divergent, in partnership with the University of Oklahoma (OU), will build upon the research and development conducted in Phase I of our STTR project, “Divergent Adaptive Production System for Flexible Aircraft Sustainment” (Proposal No. AFX24E-TPCSO1-0514). Our goal is to demonstrate a scalable, rapid, and repeatable pathway for manufacturing critical sustainment parts using advanced, disruptive manufacturing technologies that address readiness and sustainment gaps across the Department of the Air Force (DAF). During Phase I, Divergent and OU collaborated with the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) and the Rapid Sustainment Office (RSO) to identify a critical sustainment part, the KC-135 Jack Screw Mount. We rapidly redesigned and tested a digital model of this part and conducted comprehensive material characterization on Divergent’s proprietary aluminum alloy (Z301) to support future prototyping. Phase II will build on these foundational efforts, focusing on demonstrating the feasibility of producing high-performing, cast-equivalent, qualifiable sustainment parts at scale using the Divergent Adaptive Production System (DAPS). Key objectives include:Finalize Prototyping of the First Sustainment Part. Complete the redesign and production of multiple additively manufactured copies of the KC-135 Jack Screw Mount initiated in Phase I.Part Qualification and Airworthiness Approval. Perform structural qualification of the redesigned Jack Screw Mount and deliver a complete technical data package (TDP) to support its airworthiness certification.Rapid Sustainment Process Templatization. Establish a documented, streamlined, and repeatable process for using DAPS to reverse engineer, manufacture, and qualify sustainment parts, enabling future scalability.Expanded Material Characterization of Divergent’s Aluminum Alloys. Collaborate with OU to generate additional fatigue life and fracture mechanics data for Divergent’s proprietary aluminum alloy, supporting broader qualification efforts.Rapid Prototyping and Qualification of Additional Sustainment Parts. Demonstrate the repeatability and viability of this approach by rapidly reverse engineering and qualifying three to five additional critical sustainment parts.This Phase II effort will establish the foundation for a Phase III transition, where DAPS can be deployed at scale to sustain hundreds of hard-to-source parts, significantly enhancing DAF readiness and operational resilience.