Photo By Antonio Gonzalez | Petty Officer 1st Class Larcom from Southwest Regional Maintenance Center demonstrates...... read more read more
Subscribe
Sailors, Marines, Soldiers and Navy engineers converged at Joint Exercise Southern California May 5 – May 16, 2025, for a critical demonstration of advanced and digital manufacturing – a game-changing capability enabling deployed forces to produce critical parts in-theater and reduce mission down-time.
Held at Naval Air Station North Island, the experimental component of the exercise united cross-service personnel to demonstrate how warfighters will rapidly produce mission-critical parts in expeditionary environments for combatant commanders.
Engineers and innovation specialists from Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Corona Division, Naval Postgraduate School’s (NPS) Consortium for Advanced Manufacturing Research and Education (CAMRE), and the U.S. Army’s Development Command (DEVCOM) trained warfighters on the full manufacturing pipeline, from reverse engineering broken components to producing new parts on hybrid machines – improving the readiness of Sailors and Marines. Service members with previous advanced manufacturing experience expanded their existing skillsets, while those with little to no experience were developed into capable operators within days.
Dr. Clinique Brundidge, manager of NSWC Corona’s Rapid Capabilities Pillar, prepared the team to deploy and exercise a wide array of digital manufacturing capabilities across a distributed production network, including collecting data on incoming parts and designs provided to them by Marines and Sailors. “Being able to translate requirements from the warfighter and quickly assist them to realize their designs is an essential skill of the team, which make them a unique asset for creating a distributed manufacturing capability on a joint scale,” she said.
Chief Warrant Officer 3 Matt Pine, an innovation officer with the 2nd Maintenance Battalion, is working to share knowledge on advanced manufacturing capabilities to units across the country, calling NSWC Corona’s role in expanding these capabilities essential. “Corona is the Marine Corps’ secret weapon,” said Pine. “They're bringing a ton of engineering expertise and a ton of metal capabilities that the Marine Corps doesn't typically touch,” he said.
“We’re helping units repair parts using 3D printers and hybrid machines which complements traditional supply systems,” said Kevin Demesa, electrical engineer with NSWC Corona’s Rapid Capabilities Pillar. According to Demesa, certain parts can experience gaps or delays in the supply chain. Digital manufacturing enables warfighters to produce parts rapidly at the point of need, whether in the field or on a ship.
Cpl. Jacob Ross, an airframe mechanic with Marine Aircraft Group 39 Camp Pendleton, has trained alongside NSWC Corona personnel for years and used the exercise to apply advanced 3D scanning and printing techniques. “The current supply system may not always have parts readily available—especially in contested environments,” said Ross. “That’s where advanced manufacturing can bridge the gap, enabling us to produce parts at the point of need and directly support critical supply chain demands.”
The exercise also enabled engineers and technicians to assess repair parts produced by mobile additive and subtractive hybrid manufacturing systems equipped with in-situ nitrogen shielding—a novel advancement over traditional argon gas systems. “When you’re deployed forward, argon is not an easy gas to get on board ships and sustain,” said Lt. Col. Michael Radigan, an engagement lead at the Marine Innovation Unit. “CAMRE is the first to deploy this novel metal printer that generates its own nitrogen, which makes it much more plug and play and infinitely more adoptable throughout the joint force.”
Whether on ship or in the field, sustainability is mission-critical. Jacob Lopez, an engineering technician at NSWC Corona who played a key role in training the service members, emphasized that the capability to manufacture crucial and complex components on demand changes the equation in modern warfare. With reverse engineered data and hybrid manufacturing systems, warfighters can produce emergency spares and repairs of expeditionary platforms without waiting for backlogged supply chains.
“In a contested environment… maybe a ship is down in the water. They need a part to get going. To me, it’s life and death,” Lopez said. “This is going to save lives—whether it’s a vehicle that needs a part to get back to base or producing parts on the fly to get back up and running.”
NSWC Corona Engineer Kyle Johnson emphasized the importance of training the warfighter to use this technology. “Realistically, they're going to be the ones out there doing this,” said Johnson. “They have that capability in-house without having to get anybody else. It can solve their tough problems.”
For Petty Officer 3rd Class Jess Simpson, a diesel mechanic aboard USS Somerset, the training directly relates to real-world operational needs. “Coming from multiple deployments, I ran into [situations] where we have to purchase parts or it will take forever to get,” said Simpson. “We need that equipment where we can make it ourselves in a few hours.”
Technical experts from NSWC Corona Division, CAMRE, DEVCOM, and FLEETWERX worked closely with service members from Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet (SURFPAC), Naval Surface Warfare units, Marine Innovation Unit, and two Marine Expeditionary Forces – ensuring they have the skills and confidence to operate the printers and solve real-world problems when deployed.
With additive manufacturing now embedded into expeditionary logistics, the Navy and Marine Corps are poised to adapt quickly to contested environments. As Radigan put it, “It’s all about delivering reliability and improved readiness—and we’re doing it rapidly with advanced manufacturing in an expeditionary way.”
NSWC Corona Division has provided analysis and assessment for the Navy since 1964. With experience in gauging the Navy’s warfighting capability, NSWC Corona is a leader in NAVSEA data analytics. NSWC Corona utilizes networked data environments, data and visualization, and measurement technology to bridge the Navy’s data silos, enabling informed decision-making for the warfighter. Anchor to the Inland Empire Tech Bridge, NSWC Corona is located in Norco, California, with detachments in Fallbrook and Seal Beach and personnel in 14 additional locations.
| Date Taken: | 06.18.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 06.18.2025 18:52 |
| Story ID: | 501050 |
| Location: | CORONADO, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 43 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Advanced Manufacturing Bolsters Warfighter Readiness During Joint Exercise in Southern California, by Danielle Ferrer, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
