Firestorm Labs says it 3D-printed thousands of parts as waves buffeted USS Essex.
A U.S. Army AH-64 Apache helicopter prepares to land on the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Essex as part of Exercise Rim of the Pacific 2026, July 19, 2026.
U.S. Army / Sgt. Olivia Cowart
By Jennifer Hlad
Managing Editor, Defense One
August 7, 2026 02:03 AM ET
Service members aboard the USS Essex were able to 3D-print 12 first-person view drones using a containerized microfactory.
“This is Uber for manufacturing delivered at the speed of Amazon, for the highest quality of parts,” Marine Lt. Col. Michael…
"Last year, we disrupted the extra-small USV market with the Typhoon," said CEO Ivan Avanesov.
Seasats CEO Mike Flanigan isn’t really interested in building ship-sized drone boats. “We don't plan to build bigger systems,”…
The theme of this edition of the biennial exercise is “partners: integrated and prepared,”
These inflatable boats use basalt fiber to reduce radar returns and RF interference.
