Military 3D Printing Sector Expected to be Worth $1.7 Billion by 2027

If you have been following for a while, you have probably seen that additive manufacturing is increasingly finding its place within the defence sector. And now this has been confirmed as according to a market report published by Stratview Research, 3D printing in the military is to keep growing over the next five years. Indeed, the market is expected to generate a total value of $1.7 billion by 2027. This will certainly be welcomed as this sector was heavily hurt in 2020 by the Covid-19 health crisis, with a -3.8% decline that came to affect market dynamics, competition and the global supply chain. However, last year the industry started to recover again and, in fact, the increase in value is expected to be exponential in the coming years.

3D printing technologies in the military play a key role, not only because they enable parts to be manufactured quickly and locally, but also because they support military readiness on the battlefield. Even so, this production method is still in the introductory phase, mainly still used for prototyping and conducting analysis for suitability for the military rather than being implemented in real operations. Despite the negative impact of the pandemic, in 2021 the industry began to rebound with the resumption of manufacturing facilities, the availability of materials, the continuation of pending projects, and much more. And it is precisely thanks to these actions that the industry’s growth is being supported and is expected to reach a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.8%.

Military 3D printing expected to reach 14.8% annual growth (photo credits: ICON)

Stratview Research’s market report specifically gives a breakdown of how additive manufacturing is being used in the military. They have segmented it into a number of “types” including platform which includes land, naval and air, with the latter being the strongest due to the growing demand for 3D printing for aircraft spare parts. Regarding the type of supply, the study distinguishes between printers, materials, software and services, and 3D printers are expected to remain the dominant offering type in the forecast period. Another interesting point is the different types of application in the military sector, including prototyping, parts and tooling manufacturing, all boosted by investment in R&D for the creation of equipment and products. Finally, the report classifies technology types between extrusion, powder bed fusion, photopolymerization, binder injection and DED. By 2027, the leading method is expected to remain material extrusion due to its ease of use and cost efficiency.