A British defense company has launched the world's first 3D printed drone defense system. Lightweight and durable, the system can generate high-power electromagnetic signals to disrupt and destroy the drone's control and command link, thereby eliminating enemy drones. It is reported that most of the entire system is produced through 3D printing technology, which can be printed at the combat site.
3D printing technology, also known as additive manufacturing, is a digital model file based on the way to construct objects by printing layer by layer technology, widely used in construction, automotive, aerospace, medical and other fields, is considered to be one of the most subversive technology in the 21st century.
In recent years, 3D printing technology has been increasingly widely used in military fields such as weapon and equipment design, manufacturing and maintenance support. At the same time, the limitations and shortcomings of 3D printing technology in military applications cannot be ignored. Whether military 3D printing can become a new "blue ocean" in the development of the future military equipment field needs to be further broken through its bottleneck and further tapped its potential.
The dream of "turning stone into gold and gathering sand into a tower" has come true
As children, many of us played the game of making a pile of sand and shaping it into a tank or an airplane.
Now, modern science has achieved this magic. Only, the sand is not squeezed by a human hand, but by a machine. This technology is called 3D printing technology that can print everything in the future.
The idea of 3D printing originated in the late 19th century, and it was accompanied by photographic sculpture and landform forming technology.
3D printing technology in the modern sense was born in the 1980s. In 1986, the 3D printing technology developed by American Chuck Hull was patented, named stereolithography technology, and later developed the first commercial 3D printer.
Since 3D printing technology was officially patented, it has now experienced nearly 40 years of wind and rain. Overall, 3D printing technology is currently entering a period of rapid development, and some areas have a high level of technology.
In recent years, based on the application prospects of 3D printing technology in the design, manufacturing and maintenance support of weapons and equipment, many countries have targeted military 3D printing in order to obtain a leading advantage in the development of weapons and equipment
In August 2012, the world's first 3D printed gun was released. Compared with traditional manufacturing methods, the gun parts made by 3D printing technology are finer and have fewer gas holes.
In January 2014, the British Air Force successfully tested a Tornado fighter equipped with 3D printed metal parts.
In March 2015, through 3D printing technology, Russia's Moscow Radio Technology Research Institute developed the "Water duck" amphibious strike drone. It is reported that according to 3D printing technology, the staff has realized the leap from concept to prototype in only two and a half months, the production time is greatly shortened, and the manufacturing cost is also reduced.
A report titled "3D Printing: Advanced Manufacturing Technologies for Supply Chain Reform" in the United States pointed out that 3D printing technology has entered the stage of rapid popularization to military, commercial and civilian fields.
According to statistics, among all users involved in 3D printing technology in 13 major countries around the world, the military's business volume is growing at an average rate of 1.2% per year. This is enough to glimpse the enthusiasm of various countries for military 3D printing technology.
This enthusiasm stems from the precision and speed of 3D printing technology. The head of the UK 3D printing UAV defense system research and development team said in the report that using 3D printing technology, they easily implemented design standards that could not be achieved by traditional mould-based production methods. This is reflected in the military manufacturing production model, in addition to on-demand and convenient production, 3D printing technology also allows the creation of highly customized and specialized equipment. For example, soldiers can have customized helmets, body armor and other protective equipment, can quickly print prosthetics and joints for the wounded on the battlefield, and build barracks and fortifications anytime and anywhere.
"Turning stone into gold, gathering sand into a tower" is an eternal human dream, and 3D printing technology is making this dream a reality bit by bit in a physical sense.
In the face of the future battlefield, adaptability and risk coexist
Compared with traditional technology, 3D printing technology has one of the most outstanding advantages: without mechanical processing or any mold, it can directly generate parts of any shape from computer graphics data, thereby greatly shortening the production cycle. For example, using 3D printing technology, a person, a computer, a printer can form a "factory", which greatly improves the production speed and reduces the time cost.
In addition, 3D printing technology can also significantly reduce the cost of weapons and equipment. In the production of traditional weapons and equipment, raw materials go through cutting, grinding, corrosion and other processes, and finally form parts, and then are assembled and welded into products. In this process, part of the raw material is wasted. Through 3D printing technology, sophisticated weapons and accessories can be printed directly in the production process according to computer graphics data. At the same time, it can achieve on-demand materials, and there is almost no waste of raw materials in the entire production process. It is reported that the use of 3D printing technology, the "Patriot" air defense system gear components manufactured by a company in the United States, its manufacturing cost was reduced from the original $20-40,000 to $1,250, greatly reducing the cost of construction.
The advantages of fast, accurate and less waste make 3D printing technology have good battlefield adaptability. In recent years, with the improvement of technology maturity and performance, 3D printing technology has been expanding in the military field, and it has begun to emerge in the fields of weapon and equipment design, manufacturing and maintenance.
Design - When designing the core components of a new generation of large launch vehicles, NASA uses a large 3D printer to mold and manufacture the design parts. The 3D printer uses selective laser melting technology to heat the metal powder into shape, which can shorten the manufacturing time, improve the manufacturing accuracy, reduce the manufacturing cost, and achieve multiple benefits with one stone compared to CNC machine tool manufacturing.
Manufacturing - Using 3D printing technology, a French company printed a propeller in 2021. The propeller, which consists of five 200kg blades, was then fitted to a mine-hunting ship. In addition to dramatically reducing delivery times, the 3D-printed redesigned parts in this project can also improve energy and thrust efficiency, and even improve the acoustic characteristics of parts in stealth operations.
Maintenance - At present, 3D printing technology is also increasingly playing a role in the field of maintenance. For example, in the application of aviation engine maintenance, many countries use 3D printing technology to manufacture parts needed for maintenance, solving the problem of parts shortage and procurement difficulty, which not only saves manufacturing costs, but also shortens the maintenance cycle.
Although 3D printing technology has strong battlefield adaptability, the problems existing in practical application can not be ignored.
First, the problem of raw materials. At this stage, there are not many types of materials that can be used for 3D printing. In the face of such a fast developing 3D printing market, how to develop more suitable printing materials is the primary problem. At the same time, some experts have questioned that the current 3D printer is relatively bulky, coupled with the weight of various raw materials, but will reduce the maneuvering speed of combat troops.
Second, the issue of network security. Because a 3D printer is also a computer, in theory, what a hacker can do to a computer can be done to a 3D printer. If the 3D printer is hacked or infected with a virus, the hacker can program it to add defects to the print project. If these defects go to the battlefield, their enormous destructive power is self-evident.
To be "aided" by artificial intelligence and new material technology
On March 23 this year, the world's first 3D printed rocket was fired off, although it failed to successfully enter orbit, but it indicates the great potential of 3D printing technology as a revolutionary manufacturing method in aerospace, military and other fields.
According to the development and production needs of future weapons and equipment and the needs of modern war, it can be predicted that the future 3D printing will develop in the direction of low-cost, high-performance and intelligent under the "blessing" of artificial intelligence and new material technology.
-- 3D printing systems will be more miniaturized and portable.
In order to adapt to the rapid and accurate support requirements of the field battlefield, improve the response speed of weapons and equipment development and damage parts maintenance, the future 3D printing system will become easier to operate and more convenient to carry.
The materials of 3D printing technology will become more and more diverse, and the overall supply capacity will continue to improve.
With the rapid development of 3D printing technology and the increasing demand for printing materials, researchers will develop more different types of printing materials in the future, pay more attention to the rapid and accurate protection requirements of field battlefields, pay attention to the combination of traditional manufacturing technology, and develop new process methods such as continuous printing, large printing, and multi-material printing. Continuously improve the speed, efficiency and accuracy of 3D printing technology.
3D printing technology will be more intelligent, with adaptive, self-assembly and even self-healing capabilities.
Weapons and equipment components printed under the "blessing" of artificial intelligence technology can achieve corresponding changes in structure and function under rapidly changing battlefield conditions, thereby improving environmental adaptability, optimizing performance, and reducing costs. Smart variants of Transformers, tanks, cannons, and aircraft, may soon appear on future battlefields.
It's not hard to imagine a picture --
In the future information battlefield, the originally difficult repair work of damaged weapons will become easy: technical support personnel can start the 3D printer at any time, directly "print" the required parts one by one, quickly assemble, and let the weapons back into the battlefield.
With this "mobile Arsenal" of "clone" weapons, it can not only quickly supplement individual combat consumption in wartime, but also shorten the design and development cycle of new weapons, and improve the performance and production efficiency of weapons and equipment.
There is no doubt that 3D printing technology has brought a new molding process for the manufacturing of weapon parts, especially high-end weapon parts, and will play an important role in future wars and improving national defense strength. Today, many national militaries have developed relevant plans to promote the development of 3D printing technology.
As a new technology that is in a rapid rising trend, whether 3D printing can become a new "blue ocean" in the future development of military equipment, let us wait and see.