U.S. Soldiers Are Using 3D Printing to Build Battlefield-Ready Drones

Soldiers from the U.S. Army’s 173rd Airborne Brigade are now taking battlefield adaptability into their own hands. After the Army retired the RQ-7B Shadow drone in March 2024, a team called Hawkeye Platoon, from the 1st Squadron, 91st Cavalry Regiment, built its own fleet of 3D printed drones from scratch for missions. This showcases how the combination of 3D printing and traditional parts is transforming the capabilities of small units in the field.

With money from the brigade, the platoon has become a mobile drone lab. They utilize simple 3D printers and common electronics to create, assemble, and fly first-person view (FPV) drones. They create each one for specific combat or scouting needs. Each drone costs about $400 to $500 and can be made in just a few hours. Staff Sgt. Andy Ortiz, a drone pilot and trainer, said that even soldiers who are new to drones can learn to build and fly them with training and practice. He stated, “It could increase the lethality of the platoon or the Army because it’s super cheap to build. If it breaks, we fix it in-house.“

Though FPVs need a direct line of sight, they are cheap and quick to use, making them helpful. Hawkeye Platoon uses them for close-range scouting, fake attack runs, and testing how to drop explosives. The team has even designed parts to add to the drones to simulate dropping small payloads. Ortiz mentioned that, “instead of calling for fire support, someone in your platoon could take out the target with a drone.“