AML3D (ASX:AL3) announced on September 17 that it has received its first production order from Austal USA Advanced Technologies for large high-pressure copper-nickel (CuNi) fluid control components for U.S. Navy nuclear submarines. The contract is valued at approximately AUD 500,000, with 50% prepayment and the balance due upon delivery and acceptance. The three components will be manufactured using the WAM® wire-arc additive process and are expected to complete delivery testing at the company's Stow, Ohio facility by Q3 of fiscal year 2027. This marks the first time the company's years of qualification and material testing have translated into an actual production order, whereas previous procurement routes were all traditional casting/forging. AML3D currently has 17 ARCEMY systems deployed in the United States, 16 of which serve the U.S. Navy submarine industrial base. The U.S. Navy predicts it will need up to 100 additive manufacturing systems and 1,600 additively manufactured parts by 2030, and the penetration of wire-arc additive into the submarine industrial base is entering a phase of realization. As large CuNi fluid control components for nuclear submarines shift from casting/forging to additive manufacturing, demand for CuNi alloy wire feedstock will rise with ARCEMY installations, and the wire-arc process consumes significantly more wire than powder bed systems.