A look at the Defence news 12 - 18 June
The possibility of repairing an eliminated vehicle on site using 3D printed parts
At the initiative of the Royal Netherlands Army, armed forces, knowledge institutes and industry from 15 countries convened at ‘Camp Innovation’ in Ede-Driesprong, Netherlands in search of innovative solutions to repair combat damage. This was done through additive manufacturing (AM), the method of layering objects in 3D.
3D printing can be done with various metals, or with particular types of reinforced plastic. A part can be printed within 15 minutes, meaning it won’t take long to make a vehicle roadworthy again. This creates time for the actual replacement part to be produced or shipped.
Repairing combat damage by using on site printed parts is only one example of the possibilities created through new technology. The AM demonstrations did not only focus on sharing and developing new technologies, but also on their applicability in military operations. An example is ‘cold spray’, a special coating used to repair metal parts, for instance a fuel tank, making it so there is no need to fully empty and disassemble the tank beforehand.
Innovating together with other partner countries is necessary to be able to operate together whenever required in the future.
From 2026, the Netherlands and Germany will work together in training helicopter pilots
Since 2015, the Netherlands has to a limited extent made use of training programmes from the International Helicopter Training Center (IHTC) of the Bundeswehr in the German town of Bückeburg. This involves training for future NH90 pilots and also for the Cougar, until the pending replacement of this particular type of transport helicopter. From 2026 onwards, the Netherlands and Germany will be working together permanently on the helicopter training programmes in Bückeburg.
The Royal Netherlands Air Force will also stay closely linked to the US Army for further training programmes and cooperation. In the United States, Dutch pilots undergo training for the Chinook transport helicopter and the Apache combat helicopter.