U.S. Defense Industrial Base

Axios reports from Divergent Technologies’ Torrance, California factory, where AI‑driven 3D printers the size of shipping containers are already churning out cruise‑missile airframes as part of the Pentagon’s new 'Arsenal of Freedom' initiative. The company says each U.S.-built printer can produce hundreds of airframes a year and that working with a prime contractor it took a new missile design from 'whiteboard to first flight' in 71 days, with finished missiles costing roughly $200,000–$500,000 versus $2 million–$6 million for legacy models. CEO Lukas Czinger says business has sharply accelerated in the three weeks since the Iran war began, reflecting what he describes as a new consensus inside the Pentagon that 'munitions at scale are required today, not tomorrow.' Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who toured Divergent and other South Bay defense‑tech firms in January and February, is using them to promote a shift away from what he calls 'bloat and lethargy' in traditional contracting toward Silicon Valley‑style speed, cost cutting and flexible 'one‑factory, any‑product' manufacturing that can swap between missiles and supercar parts with no retooling. The story underscores how wartime pressure and Trump‑era industrial policy are accelerating adoption of additive manufacturing in the U.S. arms industry, raising questions about future defense budgets, production bottlenecks and how quickly America can replenish stockpiles in a prolonged conflict.