Drones built with tools found in every design studio are transforming modern warfare, but Stephen Holmes hopes that the tech companies on which designers and engineers rely don’t get too caught up in chasing military contracts
Mass mobilisation is back and it’s big business. At least, that’s the depressing impression I’ve drawn from recent trade shows and marketing campaigns.
In fact, the event at which I don’t meet a new drone company is now a rare occurrence. And for each firm pushing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that do good in the world (in medicine delivery, for example, or mountain rescue), there are typically five or more others optimising their payloads for the destruction of buildings, transport networks and – let’s be honest – human lives.
Given the fierce competition in this market, there are few firms that would turn down a military contract if one came their way. Drone warfare, brought to you by many of the digital design and fabrication technologies that DEVELOP3D regularly covers, is now a horrific reality.
Changing face of war
Aerial systems for use in combat were once the preserve of companies like BAE Systems and Lockheed Martin.
Today, professional engineers and hobbyists alike are able to design and assemble UAVs offering incredibly flexible set-ups using CAD software, laser-cut foam and 3D printers. And the latest developments in weaponry are not just on show at arms fairs, but at the regular trade shows that you or I might frequent.
None of this is to say that I dismiss entirely the work done by the global defence industry, where designers and engineers have to make tough decisions about tough situations.
It’s just that we’re all aware of the consequences of these innovations – one building collapse or failed peace talk at a time. It’s just dispiriting to think of what these talented technicians might be building instead.
Traditionally, military suppliers have benefited from ‘grandfathered’ contracts with the state, but today, newcomers seem very keen to grab a piece of the action, too
Exhibitors at this year’s Formnext, for example, were appealing to the defence industry more vociferously than I’ve ever seen before. Traditionally, military suppliers have been the beneficiaries of ‘grandfathered’ contracts with the state. Today, the speed of modern drone development offers big opportunities for newcomers to grab a piece of the action.
A belligerent tone is particularly noticeable among proponents of the ‘Reindustrialise’ movement in the US. The folks most happy to shift production back to US soil are the ones who needed it to take place there in the first place – in other words, the big names from the defence and aerospace sectors. With other NATO members increasing their own military spending, we can surely expect more of the same elsewhere.
At Formnext, my emotional frustration at this situation came to a head when I heard that even Materialise, a company that has previously been steadfastly against its 3D printing services being used to build weapons, has found itself at a potential crossroads with regards to creating parts for military use.
Whatever happens, Materialise will no doubt continue to provide parts for the healthcare sector, many of them groundbreaking and wholly beneficial for patients. But given the company’s previously firm stance on weapons, I was saddened to hear that it might begin to print parts designed to end human lives, rather than improve them.
Everybody loses out
Building up the military has historically been used as a catalyst for economies. And with governments still struggling in the post-pandemic world to fortify their economies and crank up stats around productivity and GDP, it’s a tempting safe harbour, but has losers all the same.
It seems to me that President Dwight D Eisenhower, a man who undoubtedly knew a thing or two about war, got it right when he said: “Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.” Even he knew that uncontrolled military spending only ever ends in disaster for someone, and more likely, whole communities.
Businesses need to keep the lights on. Enemies need to be kept away from our gates. We all know that.
But the ramping up of military spending by a bunch of ailing superpowers in the 20th century hardly played out well. Did we learn nothing from that war-torn century?
The usual line is that military funding brings us innovations that shape the world around us – but don’t peaceful times also bring the same benefits?
It chills me to see military applications built using the same CAD, simulation and additive manufacturing capabilities that other designers and engineers use every day to build products that make lives better, easier, more enjoyable.
Yes, military technologies are often used to protect innocent lives – but watching footage of one drone being used to blow up another drone seems to me to be the ultimate metaphor for the pointlessness of war, especially when yet more drones will inevitably be produced.
There are still so many other challenges and threats in our world that we have yet to conquer.
This article first appeared in DEVELOP3D Magazine
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