The United States military has widely adopted 3D printing technology for defense purposes. They have established 3D printing facilities called Fablabs, especially in remote areas like Afghanistan, to print parts for vehicles. The military uses 3D printing to create prototypes for various vehicles, weapons, guns, missiles, and drones. Different branches of the US military have incorporated 3D printing for aircraft repairs, mission-specific drone development, and construction of expeditionary structures. Overall, 3D printing is enhancing military defenses for the US and other countries around the world.

1. 3DPRINTINGIN
SincetheUnitedStatesofAmericaisoneoftheleadingmilitarypowers,
theyarealsooneoftheleadingcountriestouseadditivemanufacturing
inmilitaryanddefense.Theyareracingagainstanothermilitarypower,
China,intousingthesaidtechnologyincreatingwondersintotheir
defensesystem.
TTheUnitedStatesArmyhascreatedFablabin2012,especiallyforthe
remoteareasinAfghanistan.Itiswheretheystoreandusetheirdesktop
3D printers,othersindustrialmachinetocreatethepartsneeded for
theirmilitaryvehicles.
The militaryand defense hasalso
startedcreatingprototypesfortheir
vehiclesliketankers,airplanes,jets,
theirguns,andotherweapons,and
drones.
Asfortheweapons,additivemanufacturingisalsousedtocreateorreplicategunslike
assaultriflesusedforcombats,missilesandothers.Justlikethesefollowing:
ItwasMarineCorpswhomade3D printed
dronesfirst.Then,justafew yearsago,the
U.S.Army has created a program called
On-Demand Small Unmanned Aircraft
System (ODSUAS).Ithelped them create
mission-specificdronesforbetteruse.
Since 2014,the U.S.Navyhasused 3D
printedmaterialsintofixingandmaking
new ships.TheAirForcehasalsoused3D
printedpartsfortheiraircraftandbattle
planes.
TheU.S.militaryhasalso3Dprintedtheir
barracks.TheyareknownasaB-Hut.It
wastheresultoftheirthree-yearprogram,
“AutomatedConstructionofExpeditionary
Structures,”orACES.
Differentmilitariesaroundtheworldareusing3Dprintingtechnologytoimprovetheir
defensesystem,theirvehicles,andcreatingprototypes.
MILITARYANDDEFENSE
PROTOTYPES
GUNS,MISSILES,ANDWEAPONS
DRONES
AIRCRAFTANDOTHERVEHICLES
Sources:3DPrint,3DPrintingIndustry,3DPrintPulse