WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio, August 18, 2026 — Machina, a leader in advanced manufacturing and robotics, announced that a critical structural repair fabricated by its RoboCraftsman platform has flown for the first time, returning a damaged C-17 to operational capability. The repair was completed in partnership with the Air Force Rapid Sustainment Office
(RSO), University of Dayton Research Institute and Boeing.
Aircraft repairs can be notoriously slow, sometimes with multiyear expected lead times. Once an aircraft is moved out of production, the options for repair are limited to a heavy-investment tooling buildout for a single part, or cannibalizing components from decommissioned aircraft.
Machina's RoboCraftsman platform fabricated a first-of-its-kind replacement part for the damaged C-17 without the need for dedicated tooling. Machina deployed a RoboCraftsman at the RSO, where production for a left nose panel began in March 2026 and was completed in May 2026. The aircraft returned to flight on July 30, 2026 at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.
"Qualifying a part from a new manufacturing process for flight can take years, time these critical programs don’t have time to spare. This validation changes how aircraft sustainment can be done moving forward,” said Ed Mehr, Founder and CEO of Machina. “With our agile, deployable technology we can extend the life of valuable aircraft by enabling fabrication at the point of need, supporting a new level of readiness for the sustainment of platforms across the fleet."
“The RoboCraftsman capability significantly decreased our timeline, reducing the repair process from years to only a few months,” said Mary Schuler, RSO Automation and Robotics lead program manager.
The RoboCraftsman platform supports a broad range of advanced manufacturing processes, including forming, machining, welding and assembly. By eliminating traditional tooling constraints, Machina accelerates the path from requirements to production-ready hardware, implements design changes in days, and adapts production in real time, capabilities that are increasingly essential to modern defense programs operating at the speed of evolving threats.
About Machina
Machina reinvents metal manufacturing with AI and robotics, constructing intelligent factories capable of rapidly forming and assembling aerospace- and defense-grade metal structures from digital design. The company's RoboCraftsman platform combines advanced robotics, machine learning, and proprietary RoboForming technology to deliver software-defined manufacturing at production scale. Established in 2019 and headquartered in Los Angeles, Machina serves commercial mobility and industrial leaders, while its defense subsidiary, Machina Bellator, serves the U.S. Department of War and defense primes. Visit machinalabs.ai for additional information.