Leaders with the U.S. departments of Energy and Defense recently demonstrated the live production and flying of quadcopter drones and the 11-foot-tall Aires Tide test flight vehicle at The International Manufacturing Technology Show 2026.

Together, the projects demonstrate how advanced manufacturing technologies can help the United States develop and produce critical capabilities faster while increasing the flexibility of domestic manufacturing.

The demonstration, which took place at the AMT Emerging Technology Center (ETC), featured a full-scale manufacturing cell developed by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Manufacturing Demonstration Facility (MDF) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). Combining automation with subtractive and additive manufacturing, the cell will produce quadcopter airframes that will then fly in a safely netted area.

Aires Tide is one of the first tangible results of the Genesis Mission, a DOE initiative using AI and advanced computing to accelerate scientific discovery and national security solutions. The project was led by Sandia National Laboratories, with support from Sandia’s Center for Advanced Manufacturing and Innovation (CAMINO), Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and the Kansas City Nuclear Security Campus (KCNSC). Officials say the project illustrates the ability to apply AI, advanced computing and additive manufacturing to rapidly design and deliver solutions for national security while reducing development time and costs.

“The ETC demonstrates how we can use new technologies and innovative thinking to strengthen the U.S. industrial base and create surge capacity in times of disruption,” says Douglas K. Woods, president of AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology, which owns and produces IMTS. “What makes the ETC so powerful is that the technologies we need for national defense are the same ones that can make domestic manufacturing more efficient and competitive.”