Recognizing the advances in Additive Fabrication technologies, the United States Marine Corps has set up a dedicated Additive Manufacturing program with the aim of mass-producing militaristic items with ease and at any location.
Looking deeper, it is only right to state that this program—which was heralded by the Logistics Innovation Challenge—was developed to give the US Army a considerable edge during wartime.
The program has recorded considerable successes for it led to the development of an unmanned aerial system named ‘Scout’ with reconnaissance features which was built with approximately $600.
The fourth industrial age is here to stay and the exact roles 3d Printing will play in defining how it develops can only be speculated at for now. But one thing is sure: manufacturing in every industry vertical—bio-medicine, the military, engineering, science etc.—will come to rely heavily on the on-going innovations in the field of Additive Fabrication Technologies.
This revolution would definitely have enhanced the German war effort during the battle of Stalingrad by drastically reducing the logistics associated with carting ammunitions as well as other goods from Germany and its environs to Russia. And it is also definitely going to change modern warfare as we know, it in the coming years.
