Name: How the U.S. Army 3-D Prints Lethal Drones in Hours
Uploaded: 2025-12-13T03:00:00Z
Duration: 5 min 27 s
Description: The Pentagon is testing portable 3D-printing labs in Hawaii that let soldiers design, print and assemble drones in hours–a bid to turn fragile supply lines into on-demand battlefield factories.

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The Pentagon is testing portable 3D-printing labs in Hawaii that let soldiers design, print and assemble drones in hours–a bid to turn fragile supply lines into on-demand battlefield factories. Photo: William Paris for WSJ

https://m.wsj.net/video/20251212/6e38094e-8915-405c-b8c8-40c1a62d6227/3/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

The Pentagon is testing portable 3D-printing labs in Hawaii that let soldiers design, print and assemble drones in hours–a bid to turn fragile supply lines into on-demand battlefield factories.

How the U.S. Army 3-D Prints Lethal Drones in Hours

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These soldiers are training for a new era of warfare. One fought with drones of all shapes and sizes. But some of these drones aren't like the others. They weren't shipped in from the mainland. They were designed, manufactured and tested right here in Hawaii. This is Lightning Labs at Schofield Barracks on the Hawaiian Island of O'ahu. This is the US Army's test site for 3D printing on demand. Soldiers here are designing, building and tweaking drones from digital files, turning raw plastic into flying aircraft in a matter of hours. In this case, they're producing FPV drones. First person view aircraft flown by operators wearing goggles that show a live camera feed.

This is our, we're calling it the Kestrel drone, but it's a one-way attack drone. Essentially it's a user-guided munition. We start with a 3D file, we get it into the the printer, print it out. Then we put all our components on a flight controller, electronic speed controller, motors and the radios and the camera in the front. And then from there, we add all the stuff you see here on the bottom, which is called our fire set, which allows us to configure explosives zone of the drone.

Niharika: Printing means soldiers can build FPV drones closer to the battlefield instead of waiting weeks for shipments across the Pacific. And each printed FPV drone costs a fraction of a conventionally manufactured one. The advantage isn't just speed, it's about survival. Recent conflicts have shown how easily supply lines can be disrupted, and nowhere is the challenge greater than the Pacific, where vast distances make resupply slow and vulnerable. In a conflict with China, those routes could face even more pressure from missile strikes, cyber attacks or blockades. The Army hopes printing drones on site can make units more resilient. Out on East Range, a vast training ground on O'ahu, The Army uses a mix of drones each with a different job to find and strike targets. Long range fixed wing systems like the P550 and Stalker scan wide areas. C100 quadcopters move in to confirm what's there and once the picture is clear, printed FPV drones take over to execute the attack.

So the drone that I'm operating tonight is called the C100. It is a medium range reconnaissance aircraft. We're gathering intel and data so that we can help our commander understand and know what's actually out there on the battlefield so that you can make the best decisions.

Haggler steam builds the battlefield picture confirming what's moving where. Only then does the FPV unit prepare to strike, but before anyone commits, it falls to FPV operators to breed the target and choose the safest, smartest way to strike.

So it just depends on the scenario, whether it's like it's already been invaded. Yes, I can see it from far away that that's, you know, CSK 141 and I'm striking instantly, but maybe it's something I'm not too sure of that maybe I need a circle or do a little quick pass by to be able to then strike it.

Niharika: Printing and adapting FPV drones at the edge of the battlefield flips the old model. Units make what they need when they need it. A tactic already seen in Ukraine.

That's a great advantage, is having something within your battalion or brigade to be able to produce something like that that's super cost-effective. And then being able to cause the destruction out there you see it causing.

Niharika: In this demo, a printed FPV armed with explosives in a real conflict is guided by an operator along a set approach to hit a target. But printing the frame also lets soldiers swap in different tech modules. This version includes a system that enables coordinated swarm formations, multiple drones flying together, all controlled from a single laptop, which is exactly what this team is doing as they plan an attack.

Realistically, we're looking about 900 meters. And there's maybe 20 meters, 10, 20 meters of an elevation change, which we want here and there.

Niharika: Being able to control the drones from a laptop enables the team to stay dug in and camouflaged.

The way that this is set up with our antenna, with our radio out there, we don't need to really be able to have surveillance. We can actually tuck ourselves in a little bit more. We don't need direct contact with the drones visually so we can really afford ourselves a little bit more of an opportunity to hide. I mean, that's the big thing, is that counter fight right now of while we're flying the drones to find the enemy, the enemy's flying their drones to find us.

Niharika: What's unfolding here is a step towards understanding how the edge of the battlefield can become a factory floor, and soldiers can become builders. In a region where distance is a constant disadvantage, that kind of agility may prove decisive.

News moves fast, and there's not always time to untangle the complex forces driving the day's biggest stories. WSJ Explains breaks down big market moves, business and economic trends, and scientific developments to help you stay ahead of the curve.