Uncategorized

Proposed $582.7 Billion Pentagon Budget to Include 3D Printed Micro Drones

With a FY2016 budget of $573 billion, the Department of Defense is hoping to increase the total amount of defense spending to $582.7 billion for FY2017. That’s a lot of digits! Fortunately, it will all be going to useful things that most ordinary citizens care deeply about, like 3D printed micro drones.

ash carter says 3D printed micro drones

In a preview of the Pentagon’s fiscal year 2017 budget request, Defense Secretary Ash Carter discussed the proposed $582.7 billion budget within the context of what the DoD considers “five evolving challenges”, specifically four sovereign nations – Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran – and the self-proclaimed Islamic State. Carter explains, “In this budget we’re taking the long view. We have to. Even as we fight today’s fights, we must also be prepared for the fights that might come 10, 20 or 30 years down the road.”

department of defense to spend money on 3D printing

This long view is meant to include weaponry even more high-tech than the US’ already world-dominant fighting capabilities, such as GPS-guided smart bombs and laser-guided rockets. $71.4 billion will also be used on research and development to fuel the arms race for entirely new types of weapons, including self-driving networked boats, gun-based missile defense, and an arsenal plane that turns one of the department’s older planes into a flying launch pad for a range of conventional payloads.” The DoD also hopes to use these funds to build micro drones that will be 3D printed.

pentagon to waste money on 3D printing

If it sounds like I might not agree with this military spending, it’s because I don’t. In 2015, the US spent a total of $1.1 trillion, with the lion’s share, 54%, spent on the military. Carter may be deem it acceptable for more than half of taxpayer dollars to go towards a 30-year plan to ensure that the country spends more on its military budget than the next seven countries combined, but when the US is ranked 37th in the world in terms of health, 31 in mathematics, 23 in science, 17 in reading, and 4th in terms of inequality, I wonder if we don’t have our priories, long- and short-term, in order.