The nominee to lead the Marine Corps this week was bullish on the potential for 3D printing and additive manufacturing to help relieve logistics and the supply chain and said he will push for technical data rights to make such production more possible.
“We have to do some very creative work to do additive manufacturing and 3D printing forward. If confirmed, I’m committed to continuing that effort because I do see one day we will be printing forward in forward operating bases, we’ll be printing major end items, aircraft engines, propellers, we’ll be doing that forward as opposed to straining the lines that come from the United States through contested logistics areas,” Gen. Eric Smith said during his nomination hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday.
Last month, President Biden nominated Smith, the current assistant commandant of the Marine Corps, to succeed Gen. David Berger as commandant. The latter is due to retire this summer after 42 years in the service (Defense Daily, May 31).
Committee chairman Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) agreed with the vision and underscored it “implies that we have to have intellectual property rights and many other things, which we will work on while you continue to develop your approach.”
Later during questioning from Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Smith repeated 3D printing is an important emerging technology the Marine Corps can use to enhance operations and maintain a competitive edge with the requisite data rights.
“I usually hammer on this pretty hard…when we own as was referenced by I believe the chairman, the Tech Data rights to things we procure, I can build and print aircraft engines forward,” Smith said.
He also said once the service can accomplish that, “that is an entire supply chain that is relieved of some stress. And it gets the engine into the hands of the warfighter today, not weeks from now, that is key.”
Smith noted that ideally the military can pre-stage the metals needed for that kind of 3D printing, which would be carried with the Marines to forward bases.
“That is in our future. I’m convinced of that ma’am and, if confirmed, I’m focused on that,” Smith said.
He confirmed that this will help move the Marine Corps forces more quickly and “as we say, speed is life.”
Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) welcomed Smith’s attention to 3D printing, saying he was the first general officer the senator had seen “who has grasped aggressively the potential of 3D printing, which basically can shorten the supply chain from 1,000 miles to about 10 feet.”
King said he hoped Smith, once confirmed, would help push procurement officials to procure the intellectual property and hardware necessary for Marines to print the kinds of major parts he was talking about. Smith agreed to that.
“Senator, if confirmed, I’m 100 percent committed to intellectual property and technical data rights. They’re vital.”
In January, Program Executive officer for Strategic Submarines Matt Sermon said improvements in metallic additive manufacturing/3D printing could potentially lead to a 50 to 95 percent reduction in the schedule for components the Navy needs in new construction, with 80 percent a plausible number (Defense Daily, Jan. 31).
Then, in March, HII [HII] Newport News Shipbuilding announced Naval Sea Systems Command approved it to use some 3D printed parts, like pipe fittings, on aircraft carriers, submarines, and other vessels. (Defense Daily, March, 9).