Marines are the first service to 3D print military-grade ammunition and spare parts for weapon systems.
Service will deploy a tiny unmanned aircraft to become the first 3D printed drone used in combat operations by conventional forces. Marines see it as just the beginning of a new way of equipping and supplying forces in the field.
Digital manufacturing is a technology the military has been pursuing for some time. The Pentagon made headlines in January when it disclosed an experiment in which swarms of 3D printed micro-drones were launched successfully from Navy Super Hornet fighter aircraft.
How the military would bring security into digital manufacturing so far has stirred “a lot of discussion but not a lot of action. The issue is how to protect a system’s “digital thread,” the term used in the industry for data associated with each product throughout the manufacturing lifecycle.
The Pentagon has not yet addressed this issue. Industry experts suggest the military could create “Blockchain” networks to ensure the integrity of the data. A Blockchain doesn’t stop attacks but gives users tools to audit data for unauthorised changes.
The Marines’ unmanned aircraft is significant because it would operate just like other, far more expensive, portable unmanned aircraft that are used for “over-the-hill” intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.
“Our team is very enthusiastic about the unmanned aircraft , but even more enthusiastic about what it represents for the future.
3D printing gained an early following in the military because it was seen as a solution to the perennial problem of shortages of spare parts for aging weapon systems. The Marines have embraced the technology, which they see as compatible with their “adapt and overcome” culture.
“Imagine being in a forward deployed environment, and you can ‘order’ the weapons and equipment you need for the next day’s mission from an entire catalog of possible solutions."
“These solutions can all be upgraded literally overnight, in order to integrate new components or adapt to new requirements. On a very small scale, the unmanned aircraft shows us that this is possible right now with the UAS family of systems.”
Empowering Marines to manufacture equipment and parts as needed has enormous ramifications. It represents a revolution in the future supply chain.”
If a unit were to deploy with a dozen different UAS, for instance, “We would have to take a dozen or more different types of packaging and associated sustainment parts.” The goal is to have a “small manufacturing capability” locally.
All that would be needed is a desktop printer, a box of components, and a spool of plastic 3D printing filament. We envision a “near infinite set of different UAS that we could produce from those basic elements.
The unmanned aircraft will be used for surveillance missions, along with several other 3D printed unmanned aircraft that the Marines are still developing. “We can have a backpack-able fixed wing UAS for long endurance ISR. We can have a small quadcopter for building clearing operations,” he said. “We will forward deploy these capabilities into a combat zone as soon as possible.”
From a cost perspective, 3D printed drones will save money in the long run. Because the military only buys in small numbers, the upfront cost of a military 3D printed drone is higher than those drones that are sold commercially. “However, it is orders of magnitude less expensive than any military-use UAS with similar performance."
A drone made by Marines in a trailer will not be a substitute for high-end aircraft made by Pentagon contractors, but that is beside the point.
“Ultimately, it's about optimising specific mission needs to the equipment we use to fight those missions. Many of the requirements today could be met with lower end equipment, and often the priority is to get things fast, which is one reason this technology is catching on.
“Additive manufacturing and localized manufacturing allows us to do this at a scale and speed never before seen."
Marines clearly have ambitious goals but recognise the technology and the business culture are not there yet. There are no expectations that, today, a Marine will buy an expensive printer and make military-compliant axles.
But they do see a future of “micro-factories” propping up in overseas combat zones and even on large Navy ships where troops will make spare parts and systems like drones, trucks and small radios.
“On demand, as needed, closer to the point of need. That’s something we don’t have. We assume when we forward deploy, we bring every single thing we might need, just in case. The assumption today is that the supply chain may or may not support our needs.”
Marine Corps needs help from the private sector to better grasp the economic incentives and the potential capabilities of digital manufacturing. “We need to understand where the technology is going, the art of the possible. The good news for the military is that incoming recruits are likely to be more familiar with 3D printing than their superiors.
The Marine maker movement appears to be gaining momentum. Labs are being built and some “maker units” have been deployed overseas. “Maker labs will be open to everyone, regardless of occupation, rank, or prior experience with design and prototyping.
Maker units are equipped with a 3D printer or mini-mill along with a laptop to support design and production. A unit of any size or type may request support from Marine Corps Installation and Logistics to explore becoming a maker unit.
"Logistics Process, Capabilities and Organisations Must be Systematically Assessed for Meeting Readiness Requirements"
Every military activity or exercise is an opportunity for assessing logistics performance, but it is rare that military exercises comprehensively test and assess operational sustainability and logistics readiness.
Fewer still are those exercises that test logistics readiness through a major deployment performed at short-notice; a phase of an operation that demands all supporting agencies are ready."
There must be a high state of materiel readiness across the force. In addition to appropriately funding the sustainment of equipment, and the establishment of appropriate stocks in appropriate areas to enable operational contingencies, the means of sustaining equipment must be as appropriate for support operations as they are for efficiency in garrison.
Failures in materiel readiness are often replicated in major sustainability issues on operations, and necessitate consequential actions such as switching parts between aircraft to achieve desired operational readiness outcomes."
Most requirements/capabilities assessment applications assume the amount of time equipment part spends in Repair Pipeline is independent of the demand process.
But in practise this assumed independence is not always expected. If the repair system requires queuing for piece of equipment or technical staff, or if the repair requires unavailable subassemblies then the demand process and repair times including when parts are not available on time, are usually positively correlated—during periods of high demand parts are likely to take longer to repair.
If there is little or no queuing, and repair parts are available, technical staff are likely to do whatever it takes to induce negative correlation between demand process and repair times, so during periods of high demand the repair times are shortened to extent possible