Turning another page in the 101st Airborne Division’s (Air Assault) journey through the Army’s transformation and emerging technologies, the Division is now planning to revolutionise military by using 3D printed drones. The drone is being developed in preparation for their upcoming division training exercise, Operation Lethal Eagle.
At Fort Campbell, Kentucky’s EagleWerx Applied Tactical Innovation Centre, the Division began 3D manufacturing of small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS).
3D Printed Drones
The Division and the 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) worked together to develop the plans for the systems at Fort Campbell. Soldiers requested sUAS that were more versatile, durable, and expendable than the previously fielded versions. During the exercise, the Division and EagleWerx representatives will manufacture 100 sUAS units and purchase ground control consoles at a fraction of the cost of previously acquired sUAS.
Operation Lethal Eagle, a 21-day rigorous training exercise, is intended to prototype Army initiatives, train unit lethality, and develop mastery of large-scale, long-range air assault (L2A2) capabilities across the division.
“This is bigger than simply printing parts. We are reshaping the sUAS enterprise at the tactical level,” said Col. (Promotable) Travis McIntosh, deputy commanding officer for support of the 101st ABN DIV. He said the project will impact the entire unit as it would affect “how we do small UAS in the division, from air worthiness to parts ordering, to fielding and training.”
Many on the project, including Capt. Andrew Blomquist, the 2nd Mobile Brigade Combat Team’s innovation officer, are eager for the 3D printed drones to reach end users permanently.
“We have done multiple Soldier touch points, demos, and flight tests so luckily, we have already received great end user feedback” , commented Blomquist. “One Soldier in particular that has experience with all of the previously fielded sUAS was surprised with its performance.”
The Division’s revolutionary experiment will continue as it prepares for its next major training event in late spring at the Joint Readiness Training Centre in Fort Johnson, Louisiana.
About Manufactur3D Magazine: Manufactur3D is an online magazine on 3D Printing. Visit our Global News page for more updates on Global 3D Printing News. To stay up-to-date about the latest happenings in the 3D printing world, like us on Facebook or follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter. Follow us on Google News.