3D printing and drone technology are two of today’s most exciting technologies. Both have started working in conjunction with each other in a way that we have not seen before.
They have a potential to take wars into the robotic, Terminator-like age. According to the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), the future of military warfare will be decided by specialized robots and fleets of 3D-printed, remote-controlled drones in the not-too-distant future.
The world will be motivated to use these unmanned systems due to rising costs of military personnel. Future military warfare could be as simple as just pressing a button to 3D print a fleet of drones, stealthily swooping in and out of battlefields thousands of miles away.
So instead of procuring expensive manned aircrafts in small numbers, the military might be able to build thousands of customized 3D printed drones using robotic assembly lines that run 24 hrs a day.
The world is still several years away from the technology needed to build military drones via 3D printing methods. The merging of these two most exciting technologies will only get stronger and stronger as time progresses and the technologies improve.
The US Army has taken the lead by deploying 3D printers on the front line to print spare parts for repairing their equipment quickly and cheaply, rather than waiting weeks for spare parts to be delivered.
