BAE Systems has successfully test flown the UK Royal Air Force’s (RAF) Tornado GR4 fighter aircraft for the first time with parts made using 3D printing technology.
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Carried out at the company’s airfield in Warton, north-west England, the test flight used a 3D-printed protective cover for the cockpit radio, a protective guard in the landing gear and support struts on the air intake door.
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BAE Systems Airframe Integration head Mike Murray said the companies are not fixed in terms of where the components have to be manufactured with 3D printing.
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”You can manufacture the products at whatever base you want, providing you can get a machine there, which means you can also start to support other platforms such as ships and aircraft carriers,” Murray said.
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"And if it’s feasible to get machines out on the front line, it also gives improved capability where we wouldn’t traditionally have any manufacturing support."
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BAE is currently using the technology to design and manufacture parts for four squadrons of Tornado GR4 aircraft at RAF Marham in Norfolk, with some parts costing less than £100.
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The technology is expected to reduce the RAF’s maintenance and service bill by more than £1.2m in the next four years.
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The test flight follows the US space agency Nasa’s successful test of a 3D-printed rocket engine component in August 2013.
Image: 3D printed components have flown for the first time on-board Tornado fighter jets. Photo: courtesy of BAE Systems.
