US Army Awards IperionX $18.5M to Scale Domestic Titanium for 3D Printing

Another Army Check for IperionX

IperionX has received an $18.5 million task order from the U.S. Army to expand its domestic titanium manufacturing operation in Virginia. It is the second Army contract the company has won in recent months, and it signals continued military interest in securing a U.S.-based supply chain for titanium powder and finished parts.

The task order falls under an existing SBIR Phase III agreement with the Army (Task Order W911QX26FA097). It covers low-cost titanium powder production for defense applications. An earlier order worth up to $25.4 million was announced in early September, and IperionX also received a $6.6 million titanium plate order from the Office of the Secretary of War Submarine Workforce and Industrial Base program in July.

What the Money Is For

The new funding targets fastener production. Titanium fasteners show up everywhere in military hardware: helicopters, tanks, submarines, and ground vehicles. Track pins, the hinge pins that hold tank treads together, are another specific focus.

IperionX plans to test the parts at Detroit Arsenal and the Army Research Laboratory's Aberdeen Proving Ground. The work will expand continuous and industrial-scale HAMR (High-speed Automated Metal Removal) and dehydride capacity at the company's Virginia facility. The stated goal is to bring titanium fastener finishing fully in-house, shortening lead times and reducing dependence on imported materials.

Why Fasteners Matter

High-value titanium components get most of the attention in additive manufacturing coverage. Fasteners are less glamorous, but they are essential. The U.S. military has become more focused on basic hardware in recent years, partly because so much of that supply base moved overseas over the past few decades. A reliable domestic source for titanium bolts and pins is operationally useful in a way that a faster prototype part is not.

IperionX's pitch is an integrated powder-to-part operation. Scrap titanium goes in at one end and finished fasteners come out the other, all within a single facility. That cuts out multiple suppliers and shipping steps, which is the kind of efficiency that wins defense contracts.

Broader Context

The U.S. military has been directing money toward domestic titanium across multiple vendors. 6K received $1.9 million from the Defense Logistics Agency and a further $23.4 million through the Defense Production Act Title III. Continuum Powders received $1.1 million from NAWC Aircraft Division and another $1.1 million from the Army Materiel Command. IperionX is the largest recipient in this batch, but it is part of a wider pattern.

IperionX CEO Taso Arima said the award aligns with GenX, the company's next-generation continuous HAMR production platform, and represents an important step in scaling what he described as an integrated American titanium manufacturing system.

What Is Still Uncertain

IperionX has not yet demonstrated that it can consistently produce high-volume fasteners at the quality levels the Army requires. The SBIR program includes testing and validation phases that will answer that question over the next year. If the parts pass, the company could become a fixture in the military's logistics chain. If they do not, the contract structure allows the Army to shift work elsewhere without major disruption.

The company has also mentioned interest in niobium powders, including the refractory alloy C103 used in hypersonics and missile applications. That is a longer-term play, dependent on sourcing scrap from decommissioned weapons systems or manufacturing waste. It is promising, but it is not the core of this contract.