American companies Divergent Technologies and Mach Industries announced testing of Venom, an autonomous attack aircraft prototype developed in just 71 days.
The project was presented in Los Angeles as an example of accelerated military system development, combining digital engineering and modular architecture.
Venom is intended as a technology demonstration platform, showing how defense equipment can move from concept to flight in just over two months. The initiative merges Mach’s system architecture and avionics integration with Divergent’s digital manufacturing technology, based on additive production and software-driven design.
One of the program’s distinguishing features was the use of monolithic structures produced via 3D printing, replacing conventional assemblies made of hundreds of parts. The so-called Adaptive Production System (DAPS) reduced component count, simplified manufacturing, and shortened the time between initial design and first flight, enabling faster validation cycles.
Although Venom does not yet represent an operational deployment, the prototype reinforces the United States’ strategy to accelerate the acquisition of drones and lower-cost munitions. The combination of flight autonomy and scalable production signals an effort to expand industrial capacity and shorten timelines in future military aerospace programs.
Source: Defence Blog | Photo: X @Divergent3D | This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team
In partnership with @Mach_Industries, Venom moved from clean-sheet concept to flight hardware in just 71 days using the DAPS™ manufacturing platform.
This milestone demonstrates how software-defined manufacturing delivers deployment-ready hardware at a fundamentally different… pic.twitter.com/JuR3h8i4fO
— Divergent (@Divergent3D) February 17, 2026
