Supporting military maintenance and repair with additive manufacturing

Abstract The purpose of the study is to explore whether Additive Manufacturing (AM) can support the military maintenance and repair of combat troops at isolated tactical level maintenance sites. The study also sought an explanation as to how AM could be organised in military logistics. The subject was approached from a systemic perspective. A system dynamics modelling was used as an impact assessment method. When selecting the parameters used in the model, the 3D printing data of the spare parts printed on the MTLB armoured personnel carrier (APC) were utilised. With simulation, we identified several key nodes for replacing or enhancing conventional military logistics with an AM added supply chain. As a result of the study, it was identified that by adding metal AM to the mechanised battalion organic maintenance and repair at the field level, it can produce spare parts whose use will improve APC recovery in the event of failure. We found that the relatively slow production speed of AM is the most influential factor in the use of the method. This study introduces a new perspective on reviewing the potential of AM in military logistics.