"Marines Planning to Take Do-It-Yourself Focus and Start Prototyping, Manufacturing and Deploying 3D Printed Systems Like Surveillance Drones"

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.
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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

“Marines Exploring Use of Immersive Virtual Reality Tech to Train Troops for Maintenance/Combat”
 
VR may prove useful as a way to provide cheap and convenient training for maintenance tasks. Using off-the-shelf motion sensors, an HTC Vive headset and controllers with a trigger and sensing pad, the program takes a service member step-by-step through an aircraft repair job, from diagnosing the problem to re-testing the part after the fix to make sure it works.
 
The system is still a prototype, but the plan is to develop an automated guide so troops can train on key tasks with little oversight, wherever they are.
 
In the loaded virtual reality maintenance scenario, a windshield washer pump needed to be replaced in a Navy P-8A Poseidon reconnaissance aircraft. Using the controllers, users could flip switches to test the pump, then perform the needed maintenance step-by-step in a 360-degree simulation of the aircraft.
 
“Certainly, you could do it with just about any aircraft, things that require troubleshooting,”
 
There are some things the system won’t do well. It can’t simulate resistance for more strenuous maintenance tasks, and a user can’t feel around in some area out of view to find a part, the way a maintainer might in a hard-to-reach area. But in an era of high operational tempo, when senior maintainers might be deployed or otherwise unavailable to train more junior troops, engineers envision the system will allow troops to meet training goals and maintain proficiency wherever they are.
 
The system is designed to be lightweight and easily deployable. Troops can complete a virtual training session, then send a video of the session to a supervisor located anywhere in the world for approval or correction.
 
Development of the system is still in the early stages, but the system has so far received a warm reception at demonstrations for Air Force and Marine Corps audiences.

Army is gearing to launch the first iterations of its new virtual reality simulators, which will lay the foundation for synthetic training environments at multiple bases.
 
A squad advanced marksmanship trainer will be delivered to several Army locations next year for close-combat troops. A squad immersive virtual trainer will closely follow.
 
The building blocks that will become the synthetic training environment, or STE, will eventually include computer-generated avatars incorporated into the battlespace, among other virtual military elements.
 
The surroundings the trainers simulate will represent real environments around the globe, from "mega-cities" to dense urban areas.
 
The service is collecting data to reconstruct cities, mountainsides, bunkers and more to more accurately represent what soldiers will see in the virtual-reality environment. Officials said that poses a challenge, but service members must get an accurate representation of what they may face in combat.
 
Soldiers will be exposed to more realistic combat scenarios, "enabling units to enter live training at a much higher level of proficiency. The goal is to rely less on bulky hardware for simulations, and more on software and networks, including virtual reality goggles and iPads for streaming services.
 
While the Army is looking for more personalised training, the new, simulated environments are intended to boost the collective squad, which would face a high-end threat together.
 
Army is looking at it from a collective -- a squad, a crew, a team, a platoon and then on up. But we have to get the individual piece correct in order to be able to do that.
 
Referencing the service's unusually swift acquisition effort and collaboration with industry, cross-functional team had been asked to be disruptive, and Army believes they have done just that.
 
Training is changing as the Army pursues dynamic live, virtual, and mixed-reality training that offers data analysis supported by artificial intelligence and other smart systems.. Being able to take the data from your training to be analyzed for trend analysis and predictive analysis is going to be a game changer."
 
Let's say there's a four-man team preparing to clear a building in a training exercise. As the first man busts through the door, a biometric feedback sensor indicates that his adrenaline spiked off the charts while muzzle and eye tracking sensors showed the soldier looking one way while his gun pointed another. When the third man enters, a motion sensor indicates that he froze momentarily.
 
And all this data is being run through machine learning systems for trend and predictive analysis, producing a readiness score for essential tasks. Imagine soldiers training to fight augmented reality adversaries in virtual battle spaces, showdowns that like video games can take place in cities around the world.
 
"We have these abilities, and have seen it from our industry partners. Instantaneous feedback. While the Army is not there yet, the service is quickly moving in that direction.
 
Soldier lethality is one of the priorities of the newly-established Army Futures Command, a new four-star command focused on rapid research and development for future weapons and warfighting capabilities, as well as enhanced training options.
 
"There are systems that we're looking at that can allow the soldiers to train as they will fight, train where they will fight and train against who they will fight while back in the home-station training environment.
 
One option for the Army is next-level synthetic training environments, where troops can train individually or in groups in both fixed or mobile live, virtual, or mixed-reality battle spaces of all sizes.
 
This is a big deal given the inadequacies of some of the existing training platforms. The current training systems are limited in their capabilities. For example, the technology for the existing virtual trainers does not allow the Army to bring in all of the enablers, such as logistics, engineering, and transportation teams.
 
“We can only bring air, ground platforms, and a few other capabilities. We need to train combined arms to prepare for large-scale combat.
Terrain is also a huge challenge. "We are trying to get to one-world training," the general introduced. "Terrain is a stumbling block We are trying to get after that quickly."
 
User assessment testing for re-configurable virtual trainers began earlier this year. Within the next two years, the Army wants AI-driven trend and predictive analysis based on biometric and sensor data collected during training exercises.
 
"Right now, we are only as good as someone's experience and their eye and what they catch or what we see in video. "We want to be able to assess training, and we have some of that capability right now, but not to the degree we need."
 
 
For much of the U.S. military’s history, live training has been key to preparing personnel for their missions. However, staging a live training event can consume significant physical and fiscal resources, from aircraft, ground equipment and ships to all the personnel involved. Plus, the risk of accidents resulting in damage to equipment, or worse yet, endangering personnel, can increase.
 
That’s why the military started utilising virtual training to provide many of the same positive benefits while minimising the negative impacts of live training. These benefits, including personnel safety, readiness improvement and cost reduction, have led the military to take training a step further and utilise live, virtual and constructive, or LVC, training that brings together multiple systems using networking and even cloud capabilities.
 
LVC training allows personnel not physically present at a live training event to participate virtually and through constructive simulations that inject battlefield effects and simulated or constructed threats into live systems.
 
A recent example of LVC training is the Air Force’s investment in a common software architecture for its training simulators, creating the Simulator Common Architecture Requirements and Standards program. Also, the Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force are all looking to connect simulators and live assets to enhance air warfare training.
 
As LVC technology advances, commercial off-the-shelf technologies play an increasingly critical role. By leveraging the advances in commercially available IT, DoD can gain significant advantages, including reduced development and deployment times as well as the ability to reuse capabilities to gain significant efficiencies. Advanced server technologies and cloud capabilities can maximise reusability and rapid reconfiguration of infrastructure for numerous training needs.
 
As the military continues to explore the use of LVC training and simulation, and blends real equipment and personnel with virtual assets, commercial off-the-shelf IT capabilities will enable high fidelity, speed and immersive training experiences to grow skills and develop proficiency for our military forces.
 
Identify and mitigate risks quickly: To keep up with evolving threats, an intent-based network can serve as both a sensor and enforcer of security policy, leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning to move at machine speed and counter advanced threats. Software-defined networks can also provide the ability to rapidly reconfigure given changes in real-world conditions or across various training scenarios.
 
Reduce the attack surface: Zero trust or white list segmentation can greatly reduce a cyber adversary’s maneuverability within an operational space in the event of an attack. Maintain an accurate and timely view of the threat landscape, segment access based on roles for devices, people and applications, and utilise security policies that are software-driven to support rapid changes based on threats and real-world environments.
 
By combining LVC with the right network strategy, DoD can securely achieve significant benefits in costs and efficiencies, as well as lower stress on existing systems, reduce wear and tear on operational systems, and decrease the chance of mishaps, which can occur using traditional live training. Building LVC capabilities on a sound network architecture minimises risk and ensures the mission is accomplished.
 
 
 

 
VR may prove useful as a way to provide cheap and convenient training for maintenance tasks. Using off-the-shelf motion sensors, an HTC Vive headset and controllers with a trigger and sensing pad, the program takes a service member step-by-step through an aircraft repair job, from diagnosing the problem to re-testing the part after the fix to make sure it works.
 
The system is still a prototype, but the plan is to develop an automated guide so troops can train on key tasks with little oversight, wherever they are.
 
In the loaded virtual reality maintenance scenario, a windshield washer pump needed to be replaced in a Navy P-8A Poseidon reconnaissance aircraft. Using the controllers, users could flip switches to test the pump, then perform the needed maintenance step-by-step in a 360-degree simulation of the aircraft.
 
“Certainly, you could do it with just about any aircraft, things that require troubleshooting,”
 
There are some things the system won’t do well. It can’t simulate resistance for more strenuous maintenance tasks, and a user can’t feel around in some area out of view to find a part, the way a maintainer might in a hard-to-reach area. But in an era of high operational tempo, when senior maintainers might be deployed or otherwise unavailable to train more junior troops, engineers envision the system will allow troops to meet training goals and maintain proficiency wherever they are.
 
The system is designed to be lightweight and easily deployable. Troops can complete a virtual training session, then send a video of the session to a supervisor located anywhere in the world for approval or correction.
 
Development of the system is still in the early stages, but the system has so far received a warm reception at demonstrations for Air Force and Marine Corps audiences.

Army is gearing to launch the first iterations of its new virtual reality simulators, which will lay the foundation for synthetic training environments at multiple bases.
 
A squad advanced marksmanship trainer will be delivered to several Army locations next year for close-combat troops. A squad immersive virtual trainer will closely follow.
 
The building blocks that will become the synthetic training environment, or STE, will eventually include computer-generated avatars incorporated into the battlespace, among other virtual military elements.
 
The surroundings the trainers simulate will represent real environments around the globe, from "mega-cities" to dense urban areas.
 
The service is collecting data to reconstruct cities, mountainsides, bunkers and more to more accurately represent what soldiers will see in the virtual-reality environment. Officials said that poses a challenge, but service members must get an accurate representation of what they may face in combat.
 
Soldiers will be exposed to more realistic combat scenarios, "enabling units to enter live training at a much higher level of proficiency. The goal is to rely less on bulky hardware for simulations, and more on software and networks, including virtual reality goggles and iPads for streaming services.
 
While the Army is looking for more personalised training, the new, simulated environments are intended to boost the collective squad, which would face a high-end threat together.
 
Army is looking at it from a collective -- a squad, a crew, a team, a platoon and then on up. But we have to get the individual piece correct in order to be able to do that.
 
Referencing the service's unusually swift acquisition effort and collaboration with industry, cross-functional team had been asked to be disruptive, and Army believes they have done just that.
 
Training is changing as the Army pursues dynamic live, virtual, and mixed-reality training that offers data analysis supported by artificial intelligence and other smart systems.. Being able to take the data from your training to be analyzed for trend analysis and predictive analysis is going to be a game changer."
 
Let's say there's a four-man team preparing to clear a building in a training exercise. As the first man busts through the door, a biometric feedback sensor indicates that his adrenaline spiked off the charts while muzzle and eye tracking sensors showed the soldier looking one way while his gun pointed another. When the third man enters, a motion sensor indicates that he froze momentarily.
 
And all this data is being run through machine learning systems for trend and predictive analysis, producing a readiness score for essential tasks. Imagine soldiers training to fight augmented reality adversaries in virtual battle spaces, showdowns that like video games can take place in cities around the world.
 
"We have these abilities, and have seen it from our industry partners. Instantaneous feedback. While the Army is not there yet, the service is quickly moving in that direction.
 
Soldier lethality is one of the priorities of the newly-established Army Futures Command, a new four-star command focused on rapid research and development for future weapons and warfighting capabilities, as well as enhanced training options.
 
"There are systems that we're looking at that can allow the soldiers to train as they will fight, train where they will fight and train against who they will fight while back in the home-station training environment.
 
One option for the Army is next-level synthetic training environments, where troops can train individually or in groups in both fixed or mobile live, virtual, or mixed-reality battle spaces of all sizes.
 
This is a big deal given the inadequacies of some of the existing training platforms. The current training systems are limited in their capabilities. For example, the technology for the existing virtual trainers does not allow the Army to bring in all of the enablers, such as logistics, engineering, and transportation teams.
 
“We can only bring air, ground platforms, and a few other capabilities. We need to train combined arms to prepare for large-scale combat.
Terrain is also a huge challenge. "We are trying to get to one-world training," the general introduced. "Terrain is a stumbling block We are trying to get after that quickly."
 
User assessment testing for re-configurable virtual trainers began earlier this year. Within the next two years, the Army wants AI-driven trend and predictive analysis based on biometric and sensor data collected during training exercises.
 
"Right now, we are only as good as someone's experience and their eye and what they catch or what we see in video. "We want to be able to assess training, and we have some of that capability right now, but not to the degree we need."
 
 
For much of the U.S. military’s history, live training has been key to preparing personnel for their missions. However, staging a live training event can consume significant physical and fiscal resources, from aircraft, ground equipment and ships to all the personnel involved. Plus, the risk of accidents resulting in damage to equipment, or worse yet, endangering personnel, can increase.
 
That’s why the military started utilising virtual training to provide many of the same positive benefits while minimising the negative impacts of live training. These benefits, including personnel safety, readiness improvement and cost reduction, have led the military to take training a step further and utilise live, virtual and constructive, or LVC, training that brings together multiple systems using networking and even cloud capabilities.
 
LVC training allows personnel not physically present at a live training event to participate virtually and through constructive simulations that inject battlefield effects and simulated or constructed threats into live systems.
 
A recent example of LVC training is the Air Force’s investment in a common software architecture for its training simulators, creating the Simulator Common Architecture Requirements and Standards program. Also, the Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force are all looking to connect simulators and live assets to enhance air warfare training.
 
As LVC technology advances, commercial off-the-shelf technologies play an increasingly critical role. By leveraging the advances in commercially available IT, DoD can gain significant advantages, including reduced development and deployment times as well as the ability to reuse capabilities to gain significant efficiencies. Advanced server technologies and cloud capabilities can maximise reusability and rapid reconfiguration of infrastructure for numerous training needs.
 
As the military continues to explore the use of LVC training and simulation, and blends real equipment and personnel with virtual assets, commercial off-the-shelf IT capabilities will enable high fidelity, speed and immersive training experiences to grow skills and develop proficiency for our military forces.
 
Identify and mitigate risks quickly: To keep up with evolving threats, an intent-based network can serve as both a sensor and enforcer of security policy, leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning to move at machine speed and counter advanced threats. Software-defined networks can also provide the ability to rapidly reconfigure given changes in real-world conditions or across various training scenarios.
 
Reduce the attack surface: Zero trust or white list segmentation can greatly reduce a cyber adversary’s maneuverability within an operational space in the event of an attack. Maintain an accurate and timely view of the threat landscape, segment access based on roles for devices, people and applications, and utilise security policies that are software-driven to support rapid changes based on threats and real-world environments.
 
By combining LVC with the right network strategy, DoD can securely achieve significant benefits in costs and efficiencies, as well as lower stress on existing systems, reduce wear and tear on operational systems, and decrease the chance of mishaps, which can occur using traditional live training. Building LVC capabilities on a sound network architecture minimises risk and ensures the mission is accomplished.
 
 
 

“Marines Utilise 3D Printing Starting to Transform Military Logistics”
 
Marines at the Mountain Warfare Training Center, working with the Marine Corps System Command team focused on additive manufacturing, which is also known as 3D printing, have come up with a method for same-day printing of new snowshoe clips, which keep boots locked into show shoes.
 
"If a Marine is attacking a position in the snow while in combat, and the clip on their boot breaks, it makes it difficult for the Marine to run forward with a rifle uphill to complete the mission," "If he or she has a 3D-printed clip in their pocket, they can quickly replace it and continue charging ahead."
 
The Corps has issued requests for information on a new cap and gloves for intense cold, and it plans to spend nearly $13 million on 2,648 sets of ski system for scout snipers, reconnaissance Marines, and some infantrymen. Zippers stuck; seams ripped; backpack frames snapped; and boots repeatedly pulled loose from skis or tore on the metal bindings.
 
The teams designed and printed the new clip, made of resin, within three business days of the request, and each clip costs just $0.05, The team has also 3D-printed an insulated cover for radio batteries that would otherwise quickly be depleted in cold weather.
 
"The capability that a 3D printer brings to us on scene saves the Marine Corps time and money by providing same-day replacements if needed. "It makes us faster than our peer adversaries because we can design whatever we need right when we need it, instead of ordering a replacement part and waiting for it to ship."
 
The Marines aren't the only ones working on 3D printing. The Navy is using it to make submersibles, and the Air Force was looking at 3D printing to produce replacement parts.
But the Marine Corps has expressed particular interest in the technology and unit commands broad permission to use 3D printing to build parts for their equipment. The force now relies on it to make products that are too small for the conventional supply chain, like specialized tools, radio components, or items that would otherwise require larger, much more expensive repairs to replace.
 
Marines were the first to deploy the machines to combat zones with conventional forces.
several of the desktop-computer-size machines had been deployed with the Marine Corps crisis-response task force
 
The Corps is developing the X-FAB, a self-contained, transportable 3D-printing facility contained within a 20-foot-by-20-foot box, meant to support maintenance, supply, logistics, and engineer units in the field. The service also said it wants to 3D-print mini drones for use by infantry units.
 
 
Marine Corps unit provided a replacement part for a forward deployed F-35B Joint Strike Fighter assigned to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron.
 
The aircraft in question had a small plastic component on its landing gear door wear out. While the piece was relatively small and insignificant, it nonetheless would have required the entire door assembly to be replaced. However, the Marines were able to print out a new bumper and install it in a matter of days rather than waiting for weeks for a new replacement door assembly to arrive.
 
“As a commander, my most important commodity is time,” Although our supply
personnel and logisticians do an outstanding job getting us parts, being able to rapidly make our own parts is a huge advantage.”
 
Marine Corps pilot has successfully flown an F-35B Lightning II with a 3-D printed part. The Marine Fighter Attack Squadron used 3D printing to replace a worn bumper on the landing gear of the fighter jet.
 
Marine Corps used the 3D printer as part of a process otherwise known as additive manufacturing. Without a 3D printing capability, the entire door assembly would have needed to be replaced, a more expensive and more time-consuming repair. Rather than waiting weeks for a replacement the bumper was printed, approved and installed within a few days.
 
The repair demonstrates the value that additive manufacturing technology brings to forward-deployed units. “I think 3D printing is definitely the future ― it’s absolutely the direction the Marine Corps needs to be going,”
 
Building off the achievement with the F-35 part, the MEU’s explosive ordnance disposal team requested a modification part to function as a lens cap for a camera on an iRobot small unmanned ground vehicle. Such a part did not exist at the time, but the 3-D printing team designed and produced the part, which is currently operational and protecting the robot’s lens.
 
 
 
 

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