Five or six years ago I wrote a piece about
RFID tags on bombs and missiles which would upon takeoff from the
catapult of an aircraft carrier delete themselves from the inventory.
From there this data would be incorporated in the logistical chain,
where those munitions would be reordered. This would prevent challenges
with the supply chain, and give plenty of opportunity for the military,
ensuring they always had an adequate supply as the current supply ran
out. Today, we have new technologies, or rather old technologies which
have now advanced that present an even better choice. Let me explain.
With 3-D printers, we should be able to print the cases, bodies, and fins on the bombs and missiles that are loaded onto the attack helicopters and jet aircraft aboard an aircraft carrier. It is much easier to take the material in a giant Hopper and print the parts you need, as that would save significant space. If it were done properly, the aircraft carrier would never actually run out of ordinance or munitions. We have the technology to do this, it's relatively simple stuff, and all we need to do is to have the sensors, brains, and electronics available in a plug and play fashion for the newly molded weapons being created on the spot.
Now then, am I the first person to think about this? Well, surely I am not, and it makes sense, and thus, it will happen in the future, perhaps not exactly as I've outlined. This may also help with ensuring that we never run out of Tomahawk missiles during long deployments, or have to worry about politics as usual making it difficult to get what we need in times of political impasse, or in the event that the United States or our allies are threatened by a rogue nation state or enemy while Congress and the Administration is busy in-fighting.
Additional aircraft parts, or just about anything we need could be created on the spot, and hopefully recycled when it wasn't needed. And back into the hopper or pile of granulars the former object would go. Are you beginning to see the beauty in such a future for our military which is facing huge budget cuts, and supply chain challenges?
We have relatively inexpensive 3-D printers that are able to print 1 m high, and by putting the object being created on a sliding table, the 3-D printer could construct an entire missile body. That missile body would then be heated to the proper temperature, and we are all good to go. Indeed I hope you will please consider all this and think on it.
With 3-D printers, we should be able to print the cases, bodies, and fins on the bombs and missiles that are loaded onto the attack helicopters and jet aircraft aboard an aircraft carrier. It is much easier to take the material in a giant Hopper and print the parts you need, as that would save significant space. If it were done properly, the aircraft carrier would never actually run out of ordinance or munitions. We have the technology to do this, it's relatively simple stuff, and all we need to do is to have the sensors, brains, and electronics available in a plug and play fashion for the newly molded weapons being created on the spot.
Now then, am I the first person to think about this? Well, surely I am not, and it makes sense, and thus, it will happen in the future, perhaps not exactly as I've outlined. This may also help with ensuring that we never run out of Tomahawk missiles during long deployments, or have to worry about politics as usual making it difficult to get what we need in times of political impasse, or in the event that the United States or our allies are threatened by a rogue nation state or enemy while Congress and the Administration is busy in-fighting.
Additional aircraft parts, or just about anything we need could be created on the spot, and hopefully recycled when it wasn't needed. And back into the hopper or pile of granulars the former object would go. Are you beginning to see the beauty in such a future for our military which is facing huge budget cuts, and supply chain challenges?
We have relatively inexpensive 3-D printers that are able to print 1 m high, and by putting the object being created on a sliding table, the 3-D printer could construct an entire missile body. That missile body would then be heated to the proper temperature, and we are all good to go. Indeed I hope you will please consider all this and think on it.
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