Defense companies are using 3D Printing more often today to build parts for weapons: Aerojet Rocketdyne is using the technology to build rocket engines, Huntington Ingalls is using it to build warships and Boeing is 3D printing parts for its commercial, defense, and space products.
"Someday, the military will 3D-print missiles as needed" says Will Roper, the U.S. Air Force’s acquisition chief. In the shorter term, he just wants to use Additive Manufacturing Technology to get broken planes back in the air. But there is a legal, not technical, roadblock: Today’s 3D-printers could make short work of part deliveries, but some of those parts’ original manufacturers control the intellectual property — and so far, the service lacks clear policy for dealing with that.