The 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment concluded FlyTrap 5.0 in Lithuania this month, wrapping up a nearly month-long multinational exercise testing counter-drone systems, electronic warfare, and unmanned ground vehicles under live force-on-force conditions. Close to 1,000 troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, and allied nations took part. Among the most consequential outcomes was a 3D printer running inside a modular field shelter, producing components that existed in no supply catalog yet were needed immediately on the battlefield.
What the team accomplished, fabricating custom mounts and brackets to integrate vendor-supplied counter-UAS systems directly onto Stryker armored vehicles, is emerging as a reference point for how modern formations sustain operational capability when traditional supply chains cannot match the pace of combat.
A CAD File, a Printer, and a Problem to Solve
At the FlyTrap 5.0, a junior lieutenant and a sergeant identified a missing component, designed it on a CAD program, and printed it. Maj. Galen King, the regimental executive officer, described what that looked like in practice. “They were able to see a sub-component of a counter-UAS system, or a mount, or a bracket, be able to use a CAD program, and then fabricate an 80% solution that was able to take a piece of vendor kit and then integrate it onto our Stryker,” he said. “I think it’s really emblematic of the broader innovation and innovative spirit that we see across the regiment.”
The platoon arrived in Lithuania equipped with lathes, 3D printers, and both additive and subtractive manufacturing tools. Throughout the exercise they repaired drones damaged in force-on-force engagements, produced custom hardware on demand, and supported operations in both Lithuania and Poland within the same week.
Built Into the Formation, Not Bolted On
This wasn’t improvised. The regiment maintains roughly 20 printers at its home station in Rose Barracks, with additional units forward-deployed in modular shelters whenever it operates across Europe. The additive manufacturing platoon also has deep institutional history with the FlyTrap series; they were among the original contributors who 3D printed the regiment’s first tranche of drones in earlier iterations.
King was unambiguous about what that continuity means. “Expeditionary Additive Manufacturing is really just an essential component of what the regiment does when it deploys.” In a contested environment where resupply is slow or impossible, fabricating a part on-site in hours rather than waiting weeks is the difference between a system that stays in the fight and one that doesn’t.
A Doctrine Taking Shape Across the Force
The regiment’s approach reflects a deliberate Army-wide push to embed manufacturing capability forward directly into units, not behind them. When a critical component fails in a contested environment, standard Army logistics can take six to ten weeks to deliver a replacement. At a Tennessee training range in February 2026, DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory and the Tennessee Army National Guard used SPEE3D’s deployable cold spray to produce a mission-critical vehicle part in under ten hours, deliver it by drone, and train soldiers to run the entire process themselves.
During Agile Spirit 25, a multinational exercise in Eastern Europe, soldiers from the U.S. Army’s 173rd Airborne Brigade deployed 3D printers to build FPV drones directly in the field.
Allied forces are closing the same gap. During Exercise Bull Storm in Kenya, British Army Maj. Stephen Watts led a team that used a Bambu Lab FDM 3D printer powered by a portable field generator to produce FPV drones at roughly £400 each, compared to a standard acquisition cost of £2,000, with technicians from the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers installing batteries, cameras, and circuit boards to make them operational.
The British paratroopers who faced the 2nd Cavalry in Lithuania brought that same capability with them. The pattern is consistent across allies and exercises: fabrication is becoming a tactical skill, and units that have it will outpace those waiting on a supply chain.
3D Printing Industry is inviting speakers for its 2026 Additive Manufacturing Applications (AMA) series, covering Energy, Healthcare, Automotive and Mobility, Aerospace, Space and Defense, and Software. Each online event focuses on real production deployments, qualification, and supply chain integration. Practitioners interested in contributing can complete the call for speakers form here.
To stay up to date with the latest 3D printing news, don’t forget to subscribe to the3D Printing Industry newsletter or follow us on LinkedIn.
Explore the full Future of 3D Printing and Executive Survey series from 3D Printing Industry, featuring perspectives from CEOs, engineers, and industry leaders on the industrialization of additive manufacturing, 3D printing industry trends 2026, qualification, supply chains, and additive manufacturing industry analysis.
Featured image shows Soldiers from 7th SFG (A) were a key part of Project Prime. Photo via US Army.
