Los Angeles-based robotic manufacturing company Machina Labs has been awarded a qualification contract from Lockheed Martin to produce metal components for the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) program, the first time an assembly built with Machina's robotic RoboForming technology has advanced to qualification for a U.S. defense missile system.
A first for robotic metal forming in defense
Machina's workcells pair two industrial robots on opposite sides of a raw sheet of metal and hammer it into precise 3D shapes using coordinated end-effectors, in a process the company calls RoboForming. The cells can drill, trim and laser-engrave parts in the same setup and produce lot sizes as small as one — a workflow suited to defense programs that need high-mix, low-volume, mission-critical components without the cost of dedicated stamp-and-die tooling. "Missile programs are not constrained by design. They are constrained by production," said Machina co-founder and CEO Edward Mehr. "Machina's factory is built to address that constraint."
Factory 3 dedicated to defense
The Lockheed contract will run through Machina Factory 3, a 200,000-sq.-ft. facility currently under construction and dedicated exclusively to defense clients. It is designed to house up to 50 RoboCraftsman workcells and integrate forming, machining, welding and assembly under one roof — a layout Machina says compresses production timelines from months to days. The work is being managed by Machina Bellator, the company's defense subsidiary.
Lockheed doubled down as investor and now customer
Lockheed Martin Ventures backed Machina Labs in its $124 million Series C round earlier this year, and the JASSM award converts that investor relationship into a production contract. "Machina's work advances capacity, reduces risk, and helps ensure we can deliver mission-critical capabilities at scale," said Chris Moran, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin Ventures. The JASSM missile itself is a long-range, precision-guided cruise weapon that has become one of the most heavily produced munitions in the U.S. inventory, deployed by the Air Force and NATO allies.
Momentum for AI-driven defense manufacturing
Machina's win reflects an accelerating rearmament of the U.S. industrial base by AI-native robotic factories. It follows AeroVironment's $500 million counter-drone deal and comes on the heels of Neros Technologies' $500 million FPV drone contract — both signs the Pentagon is willing to fast-track non-traditional suppliers that promise higher throughput than legacy primes can deliver on their own.
Reporting based on coverage from The Robot Report, Machina Labs press release and Lockheed Martin Ventures.