ASTRO America Highlights Forward-Deployed Readiness and Metal AM Quality at RAPID + TCT 2026
Guam-Focused Panel Examines Indo-Pacific Sustainment, Dr. Abdalla Nassar Highlights Advances in In-Situ Monitoring
Boston, MA – April 15, 2026 – The Applied Science & Technology Research Organization of America (ASTRO America) today announced its participation at RAPID + TCT 2026 with two featured sessions highlighting its work to strengthen defense industrial base and accelerate production-grade additive manufacturing.
ASTRO’s first panel – “Forward-Deployed Manufacturing for Indo-Pacific Readiness: Inside ASTRO America’s GAMMA Initiative” discussed their work to build long-lasting additive manufacturing capacity in Guam for part-replacement and tooling in support of U.S. submarine forces. Specifically, the panel examined ASTRO’s Guam Additive Materials and Manufacturing Accelerator as a hub for naval sustainment and rapid response in contested and remote environments, including Guam. The panel was composed of both industry and government leaders, including moderator Debbie Holton (Converge Consulting LLC), and panelists ASTRO President Neal Orringer, Roosevelt Group Principal and former senior congressional staffer Matthew Herrmann, and the U.S. Navy’s Maritime Industrial Base Program Additive Manufacturing Program Manager Justin Rettaliata, PhD.
Panelists covered needs for additive manufacturing, materials characterization and metrology, qualification, and workforce development in Guam,while meeting rigorous requirements of key defense applications. The discussion also addressed the policy, partnership, and operational frameworks needed to make forward-deployed manufacturing scalable and sustainable.
In a second featured session, Dr. Abdalla Nassar, Vice President and General Manager, ASTRO South, delivered a technical presentation on commercial in-situ monitoring for laser powder bed fusion, focused on the industry’s longstanding objective of detecting and correcting process drift and anomalies during production. The presentation explained the underpinnings of current commercial in-situ monitoring technologies and shared a real-world comparison of solutions from Addiguru, Additive Assurance, Applied Optimization, JENTEK Sensors, and Phase3D, conducted as part of an ASTRO–ASTM–InSPIRE sponsored challenge. Dr. Nassar’s presentation demonstrated that combining high-resolution melt pool imaging with near-infrared long-exposure imaging can enable detection of flaws on the order of tens of microns in thin-walled lattice structures, with applications that include quality assurance for heat exchangers and other thin-walled structural components.
“RAPID + TCT is an ideal venue for a dialogue on using additive manufacturing to meet our most pressing national security needs,” said Neal Orringer, President and CEO of ASTRO America. “Our panelists could not be clearer– we are committed to bringing just-in-time manufacturing to Guam that will meet critical warfighter needs at the best value to the taxpayer.”
“Production-grade metal additive manufacturing depends on trustworthy detection, repeatability, and decision-making at the right time in the build,” said Dr. Abdalla Nassar, Vice President and General Manager, ASTRO South. “We are excited to share results from a real-world comparison of in-situ monitoring solutions and practical insights into where the commercial state of the art is delivering value today.”
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The Applied Science and Technology Research Organization of America (ASTRO America) is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit, non-partisan Research Institute and Think Tank. It was established in 2018 to advance the public interest through manufacturing technology and policy. Led by manufacturing professionals with broad public and private sector experience, ASTRO America supports collaborations by government agencies and companies to address supply chain challenges in highly regulated industries, including aerospace and defense.
For more information, contact:
Bradley Sinkaus
570-446-7585
bradley@raynoravenue.com