La US Navy pone en servicio su decimoctavo submarino de clase Virginia "USS Delaware"

La clase Virginia es una clase de submarinos de ataque rápido propulsados por energía nuclear, y armados con misiles de crucero. Diseñados por las compañías General Dynamics Electric Boat y Huntington Ingalls, constituyen la punta de lanza de la US Navy en guerra submarina, pues incorporan los equipos más avanzados que existen en tecnología de navegación sigilosa, ISR y sistemas de armas.

Los submarinos de la clase Virginia están diseñados para un amplio espectro de misiones en mar abierto y litorales, incluidas la guerra antisubmarina y las operaciones ISR. Están programados para reemplazar a los antiguos submarinos de clase Los Angeles, muchos de los cuales ya han sido retirados del servicio. Los submarinos de clase Virginia se adquirirán hasta 2043, y se espera que permanezcan en servicio hasta el año 2070. En cuanto al Delaware, mide 377 pies (115 metros) de largo, tiene un haz de 34 pies (10 metros) y podrá bucear a profundidades mayores de 800 pies (243 metros) y operar a velocidades superiores a los 25 nudos (46 Km/h) sumergido. Propulsado por energía nuclear, podrá funcionar durante más de 30 años sin repostar. 

Missile Defense: ¿Why should an army wait a year to get end-use parts that It could be 3D-Printed?

Defense companies are using Additive Manufacturing more often today to build parts for weapons: Aerojet Rocketdyne is using the technology to build rocket engines, Huntington Ingalls is using it to build warships and Boeing is 3D printing parts for its commercial, defense, and space products. “In particular, rapid prototyping, along with the creation of highly specific and technical parts are orders of magnitude faster and cheaper than traditional manufacturing methods,” said a recently released RAND report. 

Someday, the military will 3D-print missiles as needed, the U.S. Air Force’s acquisition chief says. In the shorter term, he just wants to use Additive Manufacturing Technology to get broken planes back in the air. The roadblock is legal, not technical: “I have airplanes right now that are waiting on parts that are taking a year and a half to deliver. A year and a half,” Will Roper, the assistant Air Force secretary for acquisition, technology and logistics, said in an interview.

The Air Force is already 3D-printing niche projects whose original suppliers no longer exist. The problem is with parts whose manufacturers are still around, but which no longer make the specific item in need. Today’s 3D-printers could make short work of those deliveries, but some of those parts’ original manufacturers control the intellectual property —and so far, the service lacks clear policy for dealing with that: “The reason I can’t say we’re going to do it is we’re talking about government contracts and IP, so I have lawyers that are helping me and other contracts folks,” Roper said. “But it’s an area I’m going to stay focused because I see a way for win-win. And that doesn’t happen often in the government.”