The United States Army is exploring how 3D-printed drones could be employed on the battlefield of tomorrow. Small unmanned aerial systems (UAS) have proven to be a significant game changer in the ongoing war in Ukraine, where off-the-shelf drones costing a few thousand dollars or less have been used to destroy tanks valued in the tens of millions of dollars. Likewise, the Iranian-backed Houthi militants in Yemen have employed drones to target US Navy vessels, where the weapons to counter the aerial threats are expensive air defense missiles.
However, it isn’t just the use of drones in combat that the US Army has been exploring. The service’s Transformation in Combat (TiC) units are devising ways to produce UAS and first-person-view (FPV) drones in the field.
“It really drives the cost down, and it allows us to be more nimble,” Lt. Col. Dan Huff, the commander for the 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, told Breaking Defense following a recent combat training exercise, where both sides were equipped with mobile 3D printers. The drones could be produced near the front lines and even in an active combat zone.
“We don’t have to wait for something commercial off-the-shelf to be available,” Huff added.
The question now being asked is whether a forward facility with power and air conditioning is the best solution for printing out 100 or more drones? Such a center could be targeted and destroyed, possibly by an adversary’s drones. To resolve that issue, Col. Nick Ryan, director of the Army Capability Manager for Unmanned Aircraft Systems, suggested the answer might be to take the 3D printing mobile as well.
“Is it really the right answer to have a brigade carrying around 3D printers in the back of a truck trying to print 100, 400, 500 of these things at a time, and fabricate them while on the move so they don’t get targeted by the enemy?” Ryan explained to Breaking Defense.
In the recent exercises, the 3D printers were positioned far enough from the front lines to be out of artillery range, yet still close enough for the drones to be moved forward and deployed. It highlighted that drones could be produced on a greater scale and put into action far quicker than previously expected.
Robot Guard Coyotes Being Tested
The Pentagon has been developing robotic dogs in recent years. The platforms could serve to patrol base perimeters around the clock, while also scouting for bombs and other threats. Unlike man’s actual best friend, the robotic versions won’t need to be fed and don’t need to sleep. Moreover, scaled-up models could be employed as mechanical beasts of burden to carry heavy loads in uneven terrain to remote forward posts.
Yet, instead of the self-autonomous robotic guard dogs that have been tested at various bases, the Army Corps of Engineers’ Engineer Research and Development Center is now developing a simpler robot. Instead of a dog, it resembles a life-like coyote.
The goal of this initiative isn’t to stop human threats, but rather those from wildlife, notably birds that can cause millions of dollars’ worth of damage and even threaten the lives of aircrews by flying into the engines.
Bird/wildlife Aircraft Hazards (BASH) have been a serious menace near air bases and airports.
According to the Army Times, life-size plastic coyote figures were mounted on three four-wheeled unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs). The not-so-wily Coyote Rovers probably wouldn’t fool humans, and perhaps not even guard dogs, yet, they’re effective enough at scaring away birds. The UGVs are being updated, and the goal is for the platforms to utilize a level of autonomy that allows the Coyote Rovers to engage in patrols that deter potential threats, including birds, groundhogs, and other animals. The same technology could be used on boats and hovercrafts and employed in a similar manner.
Bio-Inspired Camo – The Squid Games
The Coyote Rover is designed to be seen as effective. Still, another program, funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the U.S. Air Force, seeks to help troops blend in by taking a cue from squids, or more accurately, the unique light-reflecting cells in squid skin.
Researchers at the University of California, Irvine, in collaboration with the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, are using holotomography to study cells and create a composite material that can adapt its appearance across visible and infrared spectrums. The teams have focused on the light-reflecting cells known as iridophores, the Sustainability Times explained.
The cells each contain “tightly coiled columns of a protein called reflectin,” which act like a natural reflector, allowing a squid to change its color rapidly. This could lead to the creation of flexible composites that could replicate or even advance the optical capabilities of squid skin. As composites can adjust the appearance across both visible and infrared spectrums, they could be ideal for adaptive camouflage.
The program is still in its infancy, but it isn’t hard to see how this technology could further impact the battlefield of the future – or, if it is successful, it might actually be hard to see it at all!
