Journey to Build 3D Printed Bombs is Personal for NSWC Indian Head Division Leader

Journey to Build 3D Printed Bombs is Personal for NSWC Indian Head Division Leader

By Matt O'Neal, NSWC IHD Public Affairs Officer

Indian Head, Md. -

More than a decade ago, a Navy explosives ordnance disposal (EOD) technician came under fire while on a mission to locate and destroy unexploded ordnance in an undisclosed village in Afghanistan. Air support arrived and dropped a MK-82 bomb on the hut harboring the hostile. Tragically, the 500-pound projectile did not explode and the enemy was not neutralized.

The EOD technician was forced to improvise, ultimately dispatching the enemy threat. Unfortunately, to complete the mission, which now included disposing of the unexploded MK-82, the technician had to use road flares to burn off the explosive to keep it from falling into enemy hands. While he was successful, he was extremely lucky to have gotten out alive. The majority of his EOD class who deployed to Afghanistan never made it home.

For Russ Maines, this is personal. Now the Test and Evaluation Division Director at Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head Division's (NSWC IHD) for the Research, Development, Test & Evaluation Department in Indian Head, Maryland, it's a story that made an indelible mark on his life and career.

In 2014 Maines hired the EOD technician while leading Thunder Range at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The technician's story motivated Maines to make it his mission to prevent incidents like this from happening. While he has spent much of his career designing new bombs using cast, forged, or pressed metals (see US Patent US 8015924) they were expensive and not scalable. He knew there must be a better way to build a better bomb.

Bridging the gap between traditionally manufactured munitions and ones made from more modern methods is one of Maines's primary goals at NSWC IHD. The idea of using 3D printers in highly sophisticated weapons manufacturing is still in the early stages but according to Maines and his team, is very promising. "Digitally transforming weapons manufacturing will create new Department of Defense [DoD] pipelines that only strengthens supply chains," Maines said. "And while we're at it, we could leverage this technology to make bombs quicker, cheaper, and most importantly, better. And as the Navy's only publicly funded arsenal, Indian Head is uniquely positioned to do it."

At a recent test event at Fort Walker, Virginia, Maines' team did just that as NSWC IHD completed the first-ever arena tests on a unique 3D-printed cross-section of a general purpose bomb. The test item was 3D printed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory for the Defense Threat Reduction Agency and provided to NSWC IHD to extract lethality assessment data as part of a collaboration to design more effective bombs. A team of NSWC IHD Detonation and Combustion Technology Branch engineers oversaw the test and hand-packed the novel case with C4. They staged the arena, set up the cameras and monitored the gauges to collect the data.

The first tests were a success, but "more testing is needed," Maines added. "So far, the data says there's no reason to stop. And now, we see our models need adjustments." Eventually, this manufacturing method will produce bombs much faster and cheaper. Maines found it costs three times less than traditional methods at low rate production. In addition, his team's data has shown there are effects they weren't expecting, such as improved blast physics and bomb fragmentation.

The groundbreaking test comes amid a strategic time for the U.S. Navy as it continues to prioritize maintaining maritime dominance as global conflicts have created a munitions demand not seen in decades. Amid continuing calls for innovation from the Navy and DoD, combined with supply chain fragility, Maines said he believes now is the time to look at things in new ways. NSWC IHD Technical Director Ashley Johnson has often echoed this sentiment by highlighting the integral role in researching, implementing and advancing state-of-the-art technology NSWC IHD provides.

While military and DoD officials agree there is no one weapon or system that will change the calculus of international conflict, adapting to evolving challenges means rapid adoption and integration of new technologies. By continuing to work towards creating faster, less expensive alternatives to traditional systems, weapons, manufacturing and production methods, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti said there have been "advancements in battlefield innovation with profound implications for the changing character of war."

"Cheaper, more accessible technology is pushing asymmetric capability, at a lower cost, to state and non-state actors alike," Franchetti said. "We have learned a great deal about the future of war at sea, including the role of … cheaper munitions … in gaining and exploiting sea control."

Every command within the United States Navy plays a role in the changing face of today's warfare, and NSWC IHD's role is more important than ever. "We think different. We not only make explosives and munitions for warfighters. With everything we do, we must get to the answer quicker, cheaper, and more importantly, better," Maines said. "We owe to our taxpayers and our sailors to give them the best without making silver bullets."

NSWC IHD - a field activity of the Naval Sea Systems Command and part of the Navy's Science and Engineering Establishment - is the leader in ordnance, energetics, and EOD solutions. The Division focuses on energetics research, development, testing, evaluation, in-service support, manufacturing and disposal; and provides warfighters solutions to detect, locate, access, identify, render safe, recover, exploit and dispose of explosive ordnance threats.

3D printing