3D printing to revolutionise battlefield logistics: army insider
Self-assembling weapons that trigger under certain conditions and specialist "3D print platoons" could be within the Australian Army's sights, according to a defence force insider.
Army Lieutenant Jacob Choi made the comments at a 3D printing conference in Melbourne, stressing he was speaking in a private capacity.
The printers use electronic data to lay down successive layers of material to make a static three-dimensional object.
Lieutenant Choi said the main benefit of the new technology for the army was making the supply chain to the battle field shorter, therefore reducing the risk to soldiers.
"They should be able to print what they need on the ground so it can be serviceable within a matter of hours, not days," he said.
The Defence Force officer said he would like to see the Australian Army utilising the full benefits of 3D printing by 2020.
Printing in the theatre of war: 3D print platoons
Lieutenant Choi believed specialised "3D print platoons" consisting of 30 to 50 soldiers could be established to make much of the army's equipment.
He said 90 per cent of the equipment could be created by the platoon - not including food, water, fuel and ammunition.
"You might have the light guys doing a lot of repair parts for rifles, armaments, vehicles," he said.
"[Then] if you have a heavy unit able to print the most delicate parts, they might be able to print things up to the size of a Humvee or a Landrover as well.
"These are just my concepts and ideas."
He also saw the benefit of having "3D printing fire teams" embedded in battalions who had 3D printers mounted in their light vehicles.
"This offers the most mobility for a four-man team to be able to do 3D printing around the [war] theatre as well."
4D printing could be used to make IEDs
The next step is 4D printers which are in the development phase.
While 3D printing creates a static object, it is predicted 4D printers will make objects that are able to change or mutate when exposed to certain conditions.
"We should be able to have a 4D printed product put, for instance, in an open field and it should be able to develop by itself into an assembled structure," he said.
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While Lieutenant Choi outlined the benefits of 4D technology, he warned there are also dangers, saying it could be used to make weapons similar to improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
"You can easily imagine the threat there would be, for instance, if you had a 4D-printed part which could react at the trigger of, for instance, the intensity, frequency, modulation of a Bushmaster coming along a certain road," he said.
Lieutenant Choi said the targeted nature of 4D weapons "solved" some of the moral questions that exist with more indiscriminate weaponry such as IEDs currently in use.
"So instead of having to have a remote control or any sort of pressure plate-initiated blast, you're talking about a system that is very discriminative," he said.
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