Ukraine received from the United States industrial-grade 3D printers capable of printing spare parts for equipment on the battlefield. This was announced by Assistant Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Maintenance William LaPlante
According to the Pentagon, Ukrainian military personnel completed training in using these printers last week.
“We finally delivered these industrial 3D printers to Ukraine last month, and their training on how to use the printer was completed last week,” LaPlante said during a speech at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS).
According to him, “we are talking about a printer the size of a truck” and the appearance of these printers “completely changes things,” since the presence of these printers opens up new opportunities for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
“You can make great things with 3D printing, not just because of the speed. You can actually make parts that you couldn’t normally make,” LaPlante noted.
The assistant to the head of the Pentagon also said that after the Russian invasion began, Ukrainians began to independently print 3D spare parts. LaPlante hinted that they did not have the appropriate permits, but allied countries helped Ukraine in this situation.
“In the beginning, Ukrainians printed their own 3D parts without having technical data packages. You know what they say, when your country is under existential attack, intellectual property laws matter only a little,” the official joked.
“We have put this in order together with other countries. Now they [Ukraine] have all the technical data packages,” LaPlante emphasized.
Source : GOLOSAMERIKI