Governor: ASTRO bags $40M deal to bring 3D printed ship part industry to Guam

Plans to bring industrial-scale 3D printing of ship and submarine parts to Guam are taking a leap forward, with Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero announcing the Navy has cinched a $40 million contract for the project.

The governor publicly shared details about the development for the first time during a meeting with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at Andersen Air Force Base on Thursday.

In 2024, the Applied Science & Technology Research Organization, ASTRO, of America announced plans to develop a ship and submarine manufacturing industry on Guam using 3D printing, also called additive manufacturing.

Both the Leon Guerrero administration and the Navy have discussed the prospect with the firm.

Leon Guerrero on Thursday revealed ASTRO has secured a $40 million deal with the Navy.

“It’s going to set up its shop here, manufacture parts, 3D, and be able to just quickly have the parts that’s needed to repair the ships,” the governor said.

According to its website, ASTRO America is a think tank focused on industrial-scale 3D printing technology, with a number of major defense projects in the pipeline.

The governor, talking with Hegseth, underscored that the quick availability of parts on the island would reduce downtime for ship repair.

“They don’t have downtime of two weeks having to get the supplies, or even just going over to Hawaii or Oregon or Washington,” Leon Guerrero said.

She told Hegseth it was a “very crucial” project for the island, adding, “We may need some more funding to stand up our University of Guam Training Center.”

After the sit down with the defense secretary, the governor told members of the media that she has not received a timeline from ASTRO America.

“All I know is that a contract has been signed, and that is the biggest hurdle. And so it’s going to move forward, and we’re going to have 3D printing and additive manufacturing as one of our industries for economic improvement, for more jobs for our people, more training for our people,” Leon Guerrero said.

ASTRO had secured a warehouse on Guam, and would be issuing a release with more information, according to the governor.

The company previously announced plans to build an advanced manufacturing education and technology center on the island through public-private partnership with GovGuam and the Navy.

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The organization in October said the center will be fully running in three years, with a satellite campus of a “leading mainland U.S. engineering university” on Guam.

According to a breakdown of the project, dubbed “GAMMA” on the ASTRO website, phase 1 will take place while the government builds a permanent training facility.

As that happens, ASTRO will begin procuring equipment and “position technology appropriately within shipping container modules to establish initial capability.”

“The campus will be operational, enrolling students with appropriate support staff and technology integration,” according to the organization.

By phase 2, “modules with 3D production and advanced inspection equipment will be positioned and transitioned for implementation on Guam,” according to ASTRO.

Prototyping, testing, and evaluation of naval ship production parts will begin to support the submarine supply chain.

Besides the Guam project, ASTRO’s webpage touts a number of projects that would use 3D printing tech to support the Department of Defense.

ASTRO’s website talks about commission for plans to accelerate manufacturing of hypersonic weapons for the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, DARPA, and a $95 million project to develop 3D printing tech for full-scale tanks and vehicle chassis for the Army.

Also on the organization’s roster is a program backed by major defense contracting giants Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman, among others, to help small companies get into 3D printing to support U.S. supply chains.

Del. James Moylan, also present at the meeting with Hegseth last week, did not specifically share ship repair talking points with the media.

But he did raise the possibility of Guam supporting ship repair during a House Armed Services Committee meeting about U.S. shipbuilding capacity in Washington, D.C. earlier this month.

The Republican majority Congress and Trump White House are now focusing on the U.S. fleet construction lagging versus China.

Moylan at the March 11 hearing stressed Guam was an “important logistical hub” to support the U.S. in the region, and pointed to Guam’s shuttered ship repair facility, closed since 1997.

He said the U.S could not overlook Guam’s ability to help with ship maintenance repair.