POSSIBILITIES OF USING 3D PRINTING IN FIELD REPAIRS OF MILITARY EQUIPMENT

Current armed conflicts confirm the thesis about the necessity of repairing damaged military equipment in the shortest possible time and in the closest possible location to the damaged equipment. These repairs are performed by the users of the equipment themselves, or with the participation of mobile repair teams, or service groups (so called „field repairs”). The continuous development of technologies used in technical repairs, including 3D printing, increases the potential possibilities of their use in the field repair process. The aim of the article is to identify the possible advantages and disadvantages of using 3D printing technology in field repairs of military equipment. The research problem was specified as follows: does the current level of development of 3D printing technology enable its rational use in field repairs of military equipment. The research was conducted using qualitative methods based on a review of selected literature from the last 10 years and the authors' own experience. The article concludes with the thesis that the implementation of 3D printing technology to perform field repairs of military equipment is rational, but with certain constrains.