Australia providing Ukraine with an additional military aid package
25 October, 2023 A Royal Australian Air Force C-17A Globemaster delivers military aid to the Ukrainian government, March 2022. Photo credits: AFP The Australian government announced an additional military aid package for Ukraine.
The West Australian reported on this. Australia is transferring a 3D metal printer to Ukraine to produce metal spare parts for military equipment. The list also includes mine clearance equipment, portable X-ray machines, and counter-drone systems.
All the donated equipment and machinery were developed by Australian companies DroneShield, Micro-X, Minelab, and SPEE3D. Their total value is £20 million. At the same time, Anthony Albanese, Australian Prime Minister, shared that a Royal Australian Air Force E-7A Wedgetail aircraft has been deployed to Germany in support of efforts to help protect a gateway of international humanitarian and military assistance to Ukraine.
Royal Australian Air Force E-7A Wedgetail aircraft.
Photo credits: Australian Department of Defence
Innovations in Ukrainian military logistics
The metal printer sent as part of the new military aid package will join a fleet of similar systems already operating in Ukraine. In early October, the Australian company Spee3D already delivered seven WarpSPEE3D 3D Metal Printers. Each printer reportedly costs about one million dollars.
They are highly mobile due to the placement of the entire mechanism in a standard ISO container.
The container-size version of the WarpSpee3D. Photo credits: SPEE3D
Spee3D printers use a method of metal 3D printing called cold spray additive manufacturing, which is particularly applicable to frontline environments, as it doesn't use lasers or gasses, like other metal 3D printing technology.
Instead of melting metal, this method uses kinetic energy to bond metal particles together in a solid state to create a final part. The WarpSpee3D is also extremely fast and energy efficient. It can build large parts up to one meter in diameter or 40 kg in weight in several metals.
A wrench printed in less than an hour.
Photo credits: SPEE3D
Cold spray AM can also repair and coat metal parts, essentially spraying and bonding metal onto an existing part, which is also used to add additional shapes or features.