BAE is using a new system called the Chemputer to grow these drones. The Chemputer uses “advanced chemical processes” to create the drones.
That phrase probably means a type of material which can self assemble at the molecular level to a large extent using computer controlled and regulated chemical processes. Self-assembly is another class of tech which has been on the boil for a while too. This sort of assembly is exactly what it’s supposed to do.
There’s no information about what materials these drones are made of; but many metals in solution and other chemicals can be quite obliging for manufacturing purposes. Add synthetics, special materials (of which there are literally tens of thousands) and anything is possible Add a bit of basic human help, and you’ve got yourself a working system.
This is a class of new tech which has been breeding a lot of ideas for quite a while now. Sustainable “print on demand” manufacturing, for example, is already a huge advance taking place in all industries. This new technology could work with 3D printing very well, and if it’s viable for the military, complex warfare just got a lot simpler. It also has a lot in common with self assembling nano technologies, another likely entrant in to future military tech.
Military tech issues and values
The current BAE models are small drones of the type used for reconnaissance and general snooping around in tactical combat zones. These BAE drones are similar to a type used by the usually footsore Australian Army as infantry assets. They can do a lot of useful work. They’re also cheap, and easy to move around.
Take that to a local level and growing drones becomes a very good idea. Waiting for replacements doesn’t help much in combat. Nor does losing useful combat capacity. Add a few degrees of local capability for your troops, like a grow your own scout/ multi-purpose drone/missile, and you’ve got a lethal combination.
There’s another, very practical issue — new military doctrines include “drone swarms” for combat. If you can grow your own swarm, you have a serious advantage over your opponents.
Growing your own military drones is also likely to be the first glimpse of the new face of a more logistically sustainable military. The world’s military have been very quick to jump on new ways of sourcing material for obvious reasons – Cost, logistics, dependency on important frontline combat systems, etc. Much lower costs alone would make these drones a good option. But – If you add portability, and easy to do manufacturing, grow your own systems have an obvious advantage.
Another issue is managing operational equipment levels. What’s not usually understood about military systems is that they spend a lot of time getting maintenance. The more complex the system, the more work it does, the more maintenance it needs.
Just about all combat systems, in particular, need regular maintenance. When it comes to drones and other very useful things, taking them out of service for maintenance isn’t necessarily possible. In combat zones, it can be impossible. If you can just grow a new one or several, however, you eliminate the problem. You can simply replace those systems.
Upscaling grow your own military hardware and systems
In theory, what you can grow small scale can be grown large scale. Upscaling this idea is inevitable. They’re already talking about other systems, including the obvious, small planes. The size and complexity of what’s grown is only limited by the capabilities of the technology.
From the look of the new drones, the Chemputer has significant capacity to deliver a range of individual onboard systems, as well as the drones. This could be the One Size Fits All approach to military manufacturing.
Upscaling also means capacity and range of production. There’s no reason why it couldn’t be large scale, either. The only obvious limitation for the current tech is the size of the growing platforms.
Mixing 3D print and grow your own technologies
It could go a lot further, and fast. Can you grow your own communications systems? Probably; you could use 3D printers to augment whatever you can’t grow, too. Growing the frame and making your own 3D print parts, etc. is an obvious mix of useful capabilities.
If your grunts need new boots, new whatever, anything portable, you could have a simple system you can take with you anywhere. New ammo, and new guns, too. You could even grow medical gear, and other ancillary gear, as well.
To put this in perspective — the modern military is about 15 percent combat capacity and 85% logistics and support systems. Historically, the ability to support of armies and supply them has been their major limiting factor. Take that problem out of the equation, and the new ratio is more like 50-50.
Whatever the civil applications of grow your own tech, the military version is the beginning of a total game changer. You could have your own military industrial complex in your kitchen.
