Guaranteed just signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with global security, defense and aerospace contractor Lockheed Martin. Together, they will deploy Guaranteed’s large-scale metal additive manufacturing capabilities as part of Lockheed Martin’s Essential Security Interest (ESI) program in Belgium.
Lockheed Martin launched its Essential Security Interest (ESI) program in 2023 as part of Belgium’s F‑35 industrial participation strategy. The ESI framework aims to build secure, local manufacturing capacity for sensitive aerospace components. This would keep critical know‑how, repair pathways, and supply‑chain resilience within trusted national partners.
More specifically, the F-35 builds on the strong legacy of the F-16 to provide the next generation of air power to ensure the Belgian Air Force can fulfill its NATO missions and protect the alliance’s key interests. With that in mind, Lockheed Martin aims to bring cutting-edge manufacturing techniques onboard and WAAM naturally is one of them.
WAAM and secure aerospace supply chains
Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) is a key metal AM process that directly addresses supply‑chain resilience challenges. This is especially relevant for large, qualification‑grade aerospace structures traditionally dependent on constrained forging routes. With Guaranteed standing as one of Belgium’s most advanced practitioners of WAAM, the company is uniquely positioned to deliver secure, local, and repeatable production capabilities.
Guaranteed’s large-scale manufacturing capabilities
Created in 2019 as a spin-off company from Finindus, ArcelorMittal Belgium and OCAS, Guaranteed provides extra-large scale metal wire and arc (WAAM) additive manufacturing services. The metal AM service provider helps its customers overcome pain points in today’s supply chain. It produces spare parts on-demand, reproduces obsolete parts, refurbishes damaged components or optimizes existing ones.
In this collaboration, Guaranteed and Lockheed Martin will explore applications for Guaranteed’s patented technology. These could reduce buy-to-fly ratios and improve material efficiency. They could also support more resilient, sovereign, and sustainable supply chains.
Let’s now hope both partners share more about the specific applications developed as part of this program.
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