Massivit 3D Printing Applied sciences has appointed Brigadier Common Chris “Alf” Athearn, USAF (Ret.), to its Advisory Board.
A former U.S. Air Drive acquisition skilled, Athearn joins Massivit with a ‘particular mandate to assist and speed up the corporate’s enlargement into the U.S. aerospace and defence market.’
Massivit says the appointment marks a strategic step in its efforts to determine a robust U.S.-rooted presence and manufacturing ecosystem serving the defence sector.
Athearn brings 35 years of deep experience in superior airborne weapons methods, defence acquisition, and defence industrial base technique. All through his army and authorities profession, he has held a collection of senior positions inside the U.S. Air Drive and the Division of Protection.
He oversaw a defence armaments portfolio exceeding $5 billion that included among the Division of Protection’s most superior weapons applications. Athearn served as Commander of DCMA Northrop Grumman, one of many world’s largest defence prime contractors. Athearn was additionally beforehand answerable for oversight of greater than 400 defence contractors throughout seven U.S. states and led the Weapons Capability Activity Drive between 2022 and 2024, the place he was charged with addressing important Protection Industrial Base shortfalls and accelerating weapons manufacturing. He has developed methods centered on inexpensive mass manufacturing and has pushed for distributed manufacturing and the adoption of superior manufacturing applied sciences to extend manufacturing capability and provide chain resilience.
An extended-time advocate for modernising defence manufacturing, Athearn has championed agile manufacturing strategies that speed up deployment timelines. Massivit hopes his experience and expertise helps the corporate to strengthen relationships with main defence contractors, army stakeholders, and key program places of work.
Yossi Azarzar, CEO of Massivit, stated: “We’re delighted to welcome Chris to our Advisory Board. The USA represents a key strategic marketplace for Massivit, and we’re assured that his expertise, trade relationships, and deep understanding of the U.S. defence panorama will assist speed up our engagement with main aerospace and defence organisations whereas creating long-term worth for our shareholders.”
Chris Athearn, Brigadier Common, USAF (Ret.), added: “The U.S. is pushing arduous to broaden manufacturing capability and speed up the manufacturing of important defence methods, however many applications nonetheless rely upon legacy manufacturing strategies. Massivit’s expertise can dramatically scale back manufacturing lead instances and allow sooner innovation. I consider this functionality could be a game-changer for defence manufacturing. The necessity for superior manufacturing has by no means been better. I’m honoured to affix Massivit’s Advisory Board and look ahead to serving to speed up new manufacturing capabilities that strengthen the defence industrial base, improve manufacturing agility, and scale back the time required to discipline new operational capabilities.”
