Australia supports Ukraine with 3D printing technology

According to Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment William LaPlante, the United States has already delivered seven large-scale 3D printers to Kiev.

Australia’s new security aid package includes funding for additive manufacturing technology that Ukrainian forces can use to keep their equipment on the ground against Russian attackers.

Details of the assistance were revealed in a fact sheet on bilateral relations between the United States and Australia issued by the White House on Wednesday. This came while Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was in Washington to meet President Biden and attend an official dinner.

The press conference stated: “As part of our ongoing coordinated actions to support Ukraine, Australia has announced its intention to provide $13 million in military support to Ukraine.” These include 3D printers “that can be deployed close to the front lines, with a primary focus on the rapid production of critical spare parts for various armored platforms.”

The package also includes anti-drone devices, mine clearance equipment and an ultra-light X-ray machine that provides high-quality images for medical care.

LaPlante said this Wednesday at the ComDef 2023 conference in Arlington, Virginia:

“Logistics is really important, but so is sustainability. That’s what we’re doing with the Ukrainians now and learning a lot from them. It’s interesting what you have to do when you can’t send your American citizens into the country to keep the equipment running. We have to do it by remote maintenance.” “And we have to find other ways. Of course, the Ukrainians rely heavily on advanced manufacturing, whether it’s additive or subtractive manufacturing. We delivered to them… seven industrial-sized 3D printers.”

These systems are about the size of a U-Haul truck, LaPlante said. He also said:

“We’re not talking about small 3D printers. We’re talking about giant industrial 3D printers and technical data packages – that’s the intellectual property, the detailed designs for 3D printing. So we’re learning a lot and we have to think about it as we design and develop our systems.”

The seven systems the United States is funding through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative are WarpSPEE3D printers, manufactured by SPEE3D. The company’s global headquarters are in Australia and additional locations in the United States and Europe.

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