Taking additive manufacturing to the fight: Weapons and Warfare

[RYAN ROBERTSON]
HELLO AND WELCOME TO WEAPONS AND WARFARE. FOR STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS I’M YOUR HOST, RYAN ROBERTSON. THIS WEEK WE TAKE A DEEP-DIVE ON ONE WAY THE U-S MILITARY IS MAKING SURE IT’S READY FOR WHATEVER THE FUTURE HOLDS.

STAYING IN THE FIGHT MEANS HAVING THE TOOLS AND INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDED TO OUTPACE THE ENEMY. TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN–THE MILITARY AND ITS CIVILIAN PARTNERS ARE TURNING TO ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING. THINK 3D PRINTING TURNED TO 11.

AND OUR WEAPON OF THE WEEK IS A 44-YEAR-OLD VETERAN THAT IS CONSTANTLY BEING REINVENTED, THE M-1-A-2 ABRAMS MAIN BATTLE TANK.

BUT FIRST LET’S GET TO SOME HEADLINES YOU MAY HAVE MISSED.

AS THE SAYING GOES, BETTER LATE THAN NEVER. WHILE THE EXPECTED DELIVERY OF TWO NEW 747s THAT WILL ASSUME THE ROLE OF AIR FORCE ONE CONTINUES TO SLIDE… NOW EXPECTED IN 2027 AND 2028… A BRAND NEW MARINE ONE HAS FINALLY LANDED. PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN TOOK HIS FIRST RIDE IN THE SIKORSKY V-H-92 PATRIOT ON DAY ONE OF THE DEMOCRAT NATIONAL CONVENTION IN CHICAGO LAST WEEK.

ORIGINALLY CONTRACTED IN 2014, THE MARINE CORPS BATTLED RELIABILITY ISSUES AS WELL AS PROBLEMS WITH THE ENCRYPTED COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM IN THE HELICOPTER. WITH THOSE ITEMS FINALLY ADDRESSED THE NEW COPTER TOOK THE PRESIDENT FROM CHICAGO O’HARE TO SOLDIER FIELD FOR HIS INAUGURAL FLIGHT ON THE MARINE CORPS NEWEST BIRD.

AND IF YOU ASK FOLKS WHO’VE FLOWN THROUGH O-HARE–THE FACT POTUS WAS ABLE TO GET THROUGH WITHOUT DELAYS OR A FLIGHT CHANGE IS PRETTY REMARKABLE TOO, AM I RIGHT?

SOME BIG NEWS FOR VETERAN LED START-UP HYPORI. AFTER HELPING THE ARMY NAVIGATE A SECURITY-DRIVEN REMOTE WORK DIRECTIVE… THE VIRTUAL ACCESS PROVIDER LANDED TWO NEW CONTRACTS WORTH MORE THAN $16 MILLION. EARLIER THIS MONTH, THE AIR FORCE INKED A DEAL FOR $4.1 MILLION TO PROVIDE 10,000 LICENSES OF HYPORI’S WORKPLACE ANYWHERE PROGRAM ACROSS THE DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE. A LITTLE MORE THAN A WEEK LATER, THE ARMY RENEWED THEIR DEAL FOR $12 MILLION, INCLUDING AN EXPANSION TO THE ARMY RESERVE AND NATIONAL GUARD. AT SOF WEEK 2024, HYPORI PRESIDENT AND CEO JARED SHEPARD TOLD US HOW THEIR SOFTWARE-AS-A-SERVICE ALLOWS MILITARY MEMBERS AND CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES TO WORK USING THEIR OWN DEVICES WITHOUT THE WORRY OF HAVING INFORMATION COMPROMISED TO WOULD BE HACKERS OR THE GOVERNMENT HAVING ACCESS TO THE USERS PERSONAL DATA.

[JARED SHEPARD]
“Our platform, by design, is a zero-trust platform. So, it assumes that your phone is already compromised. Whether it is or not doesn’t matter. It assumes that it is. So it wants no visibility into your platform, because visibility in itself is a form of trust. So you get to keep all of your privacy, and the government gets to keep all of its information, or the corporation gets to keep all of its information. So it’s a win-win for everybody.”

[RYAN ROBERTSON]
THE WORKSPACE ANYWHERE PROGRAM OPENS FOR THE AIR AND SPACE FORCES THIS FALL.

AND WE HAVE OUR FIRST LOOK AT THE MARINES TAKING A SPIN IN A HYBRID AIRCRAFT CALLED THE ELECTRA. EARLIER THIS SUMMER, THE AIRCRAFT, NAMED AFTER ITS PARENT COMPANY, MADE A STOP AT MARINE CORPS AIR FACILITY QUANTICO.

THE NEXT-GEN AEROSPACE BUILDER SAYS THE ELECTRA COMBINES TRADITIONAL FUEL WITH ELECTRIC POWER, OFFERING ENHANCED EFFICIENCY AND VERSATILITY. LIKE THE ABILITY TO ACT AS A MOBILE POWER SOURCE, ESSENTIALLY A GENERATOR. MAKING IT ADAPTABLE FOR USE IN A VARIETY OF ENVIRONMENTS. THOSE INVOLVED SAY THE DUAL-PURPOSE PLANE COULD OFFER NEW POSSIBILITIES FOR MILITARY OPERATIONS, PROVIDING ENHANCED FLEXIBILITY AND SUSTAINABILITY FROM THE AIR.

[RYAN ROBERTSON]
FOR AS MODERN AS AMERICA’S NATIONAL DEFENSE IS… THERE IS STILL A LARGE RELIANCE ON EQUIPMENT THAT IS DECADES OLD.

[RYAN ROBERTSON]
THE B-52 STRATOFORTRESS, THE CH-47 CHINOOK, AND THE M-61 VULCAN ARE ALL STILL IN SERVICE, ALL PREDATING MAN’S FIRST STEPS ON THE MOON.

[RYAN ROBERTSON]
THE REASON IS SIMPLE: THEY’RE STILL EFFECTIVE. BUT MAINTAINING EQUIPMENT THAT OLD CAN BE A CHALLENGE. PARTS THAT WERE ONCE EASY TO GET ARE NOW SCARCE OR, IN SOME CASES, NO LONGER BEING MADE. BUT THERE IS A SOLUTION… ONE THAT AMERICA’S MILITARY IS QUICKLY ADOPTING: ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING.

[ANIMATED TRANSITION]
[MACHINING NATS IF AVAILABLE FOR :03]

[RYAN ROBERTSON]
TO THE CASUAL OBSERVER, ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING MIGHT LOOK THE SAME AS 3-D PRINTING. BUT THERE IS A SLIGHT DIFFERENCE: SCALE. ESSENTIALLY, IT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PRINTING A CHESS PIECE AT HOME AND CREATING A BALL VALVE DESTINED FOR A NAVY VESSEL. FOR EXAMPLE, PRINTING THIS HUNK OF METAL, THEN MACHINING IT INTO A FINISHED PIECE, READY TO BE INSTALLED ON A SUBMARINE. ANDY PFISTER OF FAIRBANKS MORSE DEFENSE TOLD US USING TRADITIONAL MEANS TO GET THE SAME PART COULD TAKE ANYWHERE FROM SIX TO 36 MONTHS.

[ANDY PFISTER]
“The big innovation with that, I can get that in six weeks. I’m going to get it in six weeks every single time. If I need it faster, I can even get it faster, and I know what I’m getting is good. I might have to put a little more machine time in it, you know, to take it down to what I see here, but it gives me that predictability and allows me to schedule and plan my work and increase our efficiency within our manufacturing environment.”

[RYAN ROBERTSON]
IT’S THE KIND OF EFFICIENCY THAT’S MAKING BELIEVERS OUT OF ANYONE INVOLVED IN THE PROCESS OF GETTING A BOAT IN THE WATER OR AN AIRCRAFT BACK IN THE SKY.

[ANDY PFISTER]
“We like to say valves are, you know, big enough to be important, but not so big, to drive the price of a boat, however, when you can’t deliver a valve, or when you can’t deliver a piece part that can drive the schedule for a ship and delivery of the ship to the Navy, which ultimately is one of the biggest cost drivers of these large programs. So anything we can do to get, you know, our customers in the war fighter what they need, when they need it is really going to, you know, help the supplier industrial race deliver on what, what the Navy needs.”

[RYAN ROBERTSON]
MEETING THOSE NEEDS IS IMPORTANT ENOUGH THAT NOW, EACH BRANCH OF THE DOD HAS WAYS TO TAKE THE PROCESS OUT OF THE FACTORY AND INTO THE BATTLE SPACE. FOR THE MARINE CORPS, THAT MEANS TURNING ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING INTO EXPEDITIONARY MANUFACTURING. TAKING THE PROCESS TO WHERE IT’S NEEDED THE MOST.

[SGT. SAMUEL MARGARINI]
“Now, not only are we focusing on parts that are made out of plastic, but we’re also focusing on parts that are made out of metal. So, one of those examples would be the fuel block. We had one that broke, and they brought it to us, and we metal 3D printed it.”

[RYAN ROBERTSON]
NOT TO BE OUTDONE, THE ARMY EMBRACED THE PROCESS AS WELL. THIS IS TIME-LAPSE VIDEO OF THE LARGEST U.S. CIVIL WORKS COMPONENT EVER PRODUCED BY ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING. IT’S A POE LOCK SHIP ARRESTOR USED TO SAFELY AND QUICKLY HALT A 100,000-TON VESSEL. USING CONVENTIONAL MANUFACTURING WOULD HAVE TAKEN 18 MONTHS; WITH ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING, IT WAS DONE IN 12 WEEKS, ALLOWING THE SOO LOCKS BETWEEN THE GREAT LAKES BORDER OF THE U.S. AND CANADA TO REOPEN IN MARCH OF THIS YEAR.

THE AIR FORCE IS GETTING IN ON THE ACTION TOO. IN 2018, HURRICANE MICHAEL FLATTENED PARTS OF TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE IN FLORIDA. THE DEVASTATION WAS SO COMPLETE THE BASE IS STILL REBUILDING MUCH OF WHAT WAS LOST. IN 2023 THAT INCLUDED THIS PRINTED FACILITY FOR ROBOTICS RESEARCH. IT’S THE FIRST OF ITS KIND ON AN AIR FORCE BASE ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD.

[BRIAN SKIBBA]
“It does meet the new unified facility criteria, which is the military building code for 3d printed structures, but it also this is the first 3d printed building that we know of, especially in the military, that actually meets what’s called the Miami Dade win code standards.”

[RYAN ROBERTSON]
IT’S A TREND THAT SHOWS NO SIGNS OF SLOWING DOWN. ACCORDING TO VANTAGE MARKET RESEARCH, THE ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY WAS VALUED AT $14.5 BILLION IN 2022 AND IS PROJECTED TO REACH A VALUE OF MORE THAN $69 BILLION BY 2030. THE DOD’S CHALLENGE NOW IS WIDESPREAD IMPLEMENTATION. BUILDING THE INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WILL ALLOW ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING TO SHORTEN SUPPLY CHAINS AND KEEP AMERICAN TROOPS IN FRONT OF THEIR NEAR-PEER ADVERSARIES.

[NATS OF CANNON FIRE]

[RYAN ROBERTSON]
A FEW WEEKS BACK, WE PROFILED THE CHALLENGER 3, GREAT BRITAIN’S NEXT-GEN MAIN BATTLE TANK. SO, IN THE SPIRIT OF EQUAL TIME, WE FIGURED WE WERE DUE A PROFILE OF AMERICA’S FRONTLINE BATTLE TANK…

[RYAN ROBERTSON]
THE M1A2 ABRAMS. THIS THIRD-GENERATION MAIN BATTLE TANK HAS BEEN IN SERVICE IN ONE VARIANT OR ANOTHER SINCE 1980 AND REMAINS AT THE TIP OF THE SPEAR FOR THE AMERICAN SOLDIER.

[RYAN ROBERTSON]
ORIGINALLY BUILT BY CHRYSLER DEFENSE, NOW GENERAL DYNAMICS LAND SYSTEMS, THE M1A2’s ORIGINAL INCARNATION, THE M-1, FIRST ROLLED OFF THE PRODUCTION LINE IN 1980. FIVE YEARS LATER, THE UPGRADED M1A1 VARIANT ENTERED THE PICTURE, WITH BOTH EVENTUALLY SEEING ACTION IN OPERATION DESERT STORM.

TWO YEARS LATER, THE M1A2 JOINED THE FRAY.

[NATS OF CANNON FIRE]

[RYAN ROBERTSON]
BUILT FOR A CREW OF FOUR, THE M1A2 BROUGHT SOME NEW TECH TO THE FIGHT, NOTABLY THERMAL IMAGING, A COMPUTERIZED FIRE CONTROL SYSTEM, AND REACTIVE ARMOR.

TIPPING THE SCALES AT NEARLY 70 TONS, THIS VERSION OF THE ABRAMS BOASTS A BIT MORE FIREPOWER. LIKE THE 120MM SMOOTHBORE CANNON CAPABLE OF BRINGING A WIDE VARIETY OF AMMUNITION TO THE FIGHT AND CAN EFFECTIVELY ENGAGE TARGETS AT THREE TO FOUR KILOMETERS… OR A LITTLE LESS THAN TWO AND A HALF MILES. AND, OH YEAH, IT’S ALSO EQUIPPED WITH TWO M-240 MACHINE GUNS AND A .50 CAL M2.

[NATS OF GUNFIRE]

[RYAN ROBERTSON]
RECENT UPGRADES INCLUDE A COMMANDER’S WEAPONS STATION WITH A THERMAL VIEWER ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE TURRET AND AN INTER-VEHICLE INFORMATION SYSTEM THAT ALLOWS CREWS TO STAY IN CONSTANT CONTACT WITH OTHER VEHICLES ON THE BATTLEFIELD.

THEN THERE’S THE ARMOR. THE M1A2 SEP-V-3 IS CAPABLE OF WITHSTANDING HITS FROM R-P-Gs AND EVEN ANTI-TANK MISSILES IN SOME SCENARIOS. THE LATEST UPGRADES ALSO GIVE IT SUPERIOR SHOOT-ON-THE-MOVE FIREPOWER AND JOINT INTER-OPERABILITY.

[NATS OF ENGINE START]

[RYAN ROBERTSON]
POWERED BY A HIGH-SPEED TURBINE ENGINE, THAT’S RIGHT, A JET ENGINE, THE M1A2 HAS A RANGE OF 300 MILES AND IS CAPABLE OF HITTING 42 MILES PER HOUR ON THE OPEN ROAD OR 30 MILES PER HOUR WHEN HEADED CROSS-COUNTRY.

WHILE IT’S NO ONE’S IDEA OF A FUEL-EFFICIENT PIECE OF THE ARMY’S WAR-FIGHTING ARSENAL, ITS FIREPOWER, AND HEAVY ARMOR ENSURES THE ABRAMS STILL HOLDS A SIGNIFICANT PLACE IN ARMORED WARFARE.

[RYAN ROBERTSON]
TIME FOR COMMS CHECK AND SINCE IT’S BEEN A MINUTE SINCE WE OPENED THE OLD MAILBAG WE THOUGHT IT WAS A GOOD TIME TO SEE WHAT YOU THE VIEWERS HAVE TO SAY. SO WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, LET’S GET IT STARTED. ABOUT OUR EPISODE ON THE LOCKHEED MARTIN F-35 ASSEMBLY FACILITY RON-JON 86-54 SAYS:

[COMMENT]
“There is suffering all over the world and we spend our taxpayer money on these evil machines”

[RYAN ROBERTSON]
LET ME START RIGHT OFF AND SAY MACHINES HAVE NO SENSE OF MORALITY AND THEREFORE CANNOT BE EVIL. THEIR OPERATORS CAN BE–BUT NOT MACHINES.

SECONDLY–AND I SPOKE TO THIS A COUPLE WEEKS AGO IN MY WRAP–IF YOU WANT PEACE, PREPARE FOR WAR. AND IF A DICTATOR OR DESPOT–WHO CAN BE EVIL–ORDERS A MASSACRE THEN THESE VERY SAME MACHINES, RON JON, MAY BE EXACTLY WHAT WE NEED TO PREVENT SUFFERING. DIPLOMACY ONLY WORKS IF THE OTHER SIDE IS INTERESTED IN BEING DIPLOMATIC.

[RYAN ROBERTSON]
NEXT UP, A COMMENT ON OUR REPORTING OF A NEW AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE U-S, JAPAN AND SOUTH KOREA FOR MAINTENANCE, REPAIR AND OVERHAUL WORK ON SHIPS UNDER THE MILITARY SEALIFT COMMAND, MR. SONNY TRUTH 80-21 WRITES:

[COMMENT]
“Now come on man those jobs are supposed to be taught and done right here in America. That no wonder why we have so much crime and so many homeless…”

[RYAN ROBERTSON]
NOW, WHILE I AGREE IT WOULD BE GREAT TO KEEP JOBS REPAIRING AMERICAN SHIPS IN AMERICA–I’M A REALIST. RIGHT NOW–IT WOULD TAKE MORE THAN 20 YEARS TO MAKE ALL THE REPAIRS TO OUR SHIPS THAT WE NEED TO MAKE. 20 YEARS…AND THAT’S ASSUMING NO ADDITIONAL WARS, PANDEMICS, OR OTHER CRAZY SCENARIO WE DIDN’T KNOW TO INCLUDE ON OUR 2020’S BINGO CARD.

ALSO–THE TWO SOUTH KOREAN COMPANIES AWARDED THE CONTRACTS IN QUESTION ARE TWO OF THE BEST IN THE WORLD AT BUILDING AND MAINTAINING SHIPS. MAYBE THE BEST. MR. SONNY TRUTH–HERE’S SOME OF YOUR NAMESAKE FOR YA–AMERICANS NEED TO GET OVER THE IDEA WE ARE ALWAYS THE BEST AT EVERYTHING–WE AREN’T. THAT’S OKAY. WE CAN GET BY WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM OUR FRIENDS–

[RYAN ROBERTSON]
LAST UP IN THE VIEW COMMENT CATEGORY–WE HAVE NICK, WEIGHING IN ON SOME OF OUR RECENT REPORTING ON UKRAINE’S INCURSION INTO RUSSIA. HE WRITES,

[COMMENT]
“Is this war even real? Or are they just playing us? A real war these days should end within weeks if not days.”

[RYAN ROBERTSON]
FUNNY, NICK, VLADIMIR PUTIN THOUGHT THE SAME THING WHEN HE SAID HIS SPECIAL MILITARY OPERATION WOULD ONLY LAST THREE DAYS… BUT AS OL’ VLAD FOUND OUT, NICK–THIS WAR IS VERY MUCH REAL AND UKRAINE IS PROVING WITH OVERWHELMING CLARITY NO BATTLE PLAN SURVIVES CONTACT WITH THE ENEMY. BUT, TO BE FAIR–NICK–YOU’RE RIGHT. HUMANITY DOES POSSESS THE MEANS TO MAKE ANY MODERN CONFLICT END IN A MATTER OF HOURS–WE CALL THAT THE NUCLEAR OPTION–AND IT WOULD BE BAD NEWS BEARS FOR EVERYONE.

[RYAN ROBERTSON]
FINALLY, A QUICK UPDATE ON A FAVORITE OF OURS HERE AT WEAPONS AND WARFARE, THE MQ-25 STINGRAY.

[RYAN ROBERTSON]
NAVAL AIR SYSTEMS COMMAND ANNOUNCING THE FIRST UNMANNED AIR WARFARE CENTER WAS INSTALLED ON THE U-S-S GEORGE BUSH. IT’S THE NEXT STEP IN GETTING THE AUTONOMOUS AIR REFUELER ONBOARD AND IN THE AIR. THE NEWLY INSTALLED AIR WARFARE CENTER WILL SERVE AS THE CARRIER BASED CONTROL ROOM FOR UNMANNED AERIAL PLATFORMS.

[RYAN ROBERTSON]
OKAY, TIME TO WRAP IT UP HERE AT WEAPONS AND WARFARE– REMEMBER–IF YOU WANT TO SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT SOMETHING YOU SAW HERE–YOU CAN. YOU CAN TALK TO US THROUGH ALL OF OUR SOCIAL MEDIA FEEDS WHICH YOU CAN SEE DOWN HERE– OR SEND US AN EMAIL IF YOU’RE SO INCLINED: WEAPONS AND WARFARE AT SAN DOT COM.

I WANT TO CLOSE THIS EPISODE BY SHARING MY THOUGHTS ON A COUPLE OF PICTURES FROM THE WAR IN UKRAINE–OR, SHOULD I SAY THE WAR INVOLVING UKRAINE–SINCE THE FIGHTING IS NOW SPILLING OVER INTO RUSSIA AS WELL.

THIS FIRST PICTURE IS FROM THE VERY EARLY DAYS OF FIGHTING BACK IN 20-22. IT’S OF A RUSSIAN SOLDIER STANDING IN THE UKRAINIAN CITY OF MARIUPOL.

HIS FACE IS COVERED…HE HAS NO IDENTIFYING PATCHES OR INSIGNIA– AND HE’S SURROUNDED BY THE REMNANTS OF BOMBED OUT BUILDINGS WHILE THE PEOPLE WHO USED TO LIVE IN THEM GATHER UP WHAT THEY CAN.

REMEMBER–IN 2022–RUSSIA SAID IT WAS COMING TO LIBERATE THIS AREA.

NOW, LET’S CONTRAST THAT IMAGE WITH THIS ONE.

A UKRAINIAN SOLDIER, FACE SHOWING AND SPORTING IDENTIFYING MARKERS TO LET THE WORLD KNOW WHO HE IS. HE’S STANDING IN FRONT OF AN INTACT BUILDING IN KURSK–THE RUSSIAN REGION NOW UNDER UKRAINIAN CONTROL, WHILE AN OLDER RUSSIAN WOMAN TAKES A STROLL.

UKRAINE WAS FORCED TO INVADE RUSSIA IN ORDER TO DEFEND ITS OWN TERRITORY.

TWO PICTURES…. TWO SOLDIERS… TWO VERY DIFFERENT STORIES.

WHEN THE FIRST WAS TAKEN–THE OUTLOOK FOR UKRAINE WAS GRIM. IT WAS UNDER ATTACK FROM THE WORLD’S SECOND MOST POWERFUL MILITARY AND IT WAS LOSING GROUND.

BUT THE SECOND PICTURE–TO ME–ENCAPSULATES THE UKRAINIAN FIGHTING SPIRIT…AND IT’S A LESSON FOR US ALL. IT’S NOT THE SIZE OF THE DOG IN THE FIGHT– IT’S THE SIZE OF THE FIGHT IN THE DOG.

WE ALL KNOW VIOLENCE NEVER SOLVES ANYTHING–EXCEPT WHEN IT DOES. SOMETIMES–WHEN YOU’RE IN THE MIDDLE OF A FIGHT– ESPECIALLY ONE YOU DIDN’T ASK FOR– THE ONLY WAY OUT—IS THROUGH.

UKRAINE WAS AND IS OUTMANNED. RUSSIA REMAINS THE LARGER MILITARY FORCE, BUT ITS SOLDIERS DON’T REALLY WANT TO BE THERE. IT’S UKRAINE THAT HOLDS THE FIGHTING SPIRIT–AND FOR ME– THAT WILL BE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ITS VICTORY AND RUSSIA’S INEVITABLE DEFEAT.

FOR SENIOR PRODUCER BRETT BAKER, VIDEO EDITOR BRIAN SPENCER, AND GRAPHIC ARTIST DAKOTA PITEO–I’M RYAN ROBERTSON WITH STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS SIGNING OFF.