Army brigade tests renewable tech in Pacific exercise
The 25th ID is printing its own drones, purifying its own water
Meghann Myers | June 4, 2025 04:39 PM ET
Army Asia-Pacific Logistics
An Army brigade training in the Philippines has been able to 3D-print about 100 drones in the field, leaders told reporters Wednesday, in addition to sourcing and purifying their own water—all part of learning to better operate in the vast Indo-Pacific, where it’s not so easy to fly in supplies.
The Hawaii-based 2nd Mobile Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, is one of the first Army units to join the Transformation-in-Contact initiative. Since March, the brigade has been in the Philippines, participating in Exercises Balikatan and Salaknib, as well as a Joint Pacific Multinational Training Center event.
“All of the first-person-view drones that we have built have been built with 3D-printing capability,” Maj. Gen. Marcus Evans, 25th ID’s commander, told reporters. “We started this initiative at the beginning of this year, and we deployed that capability…forward into the region. That has allowed us to print almost 100 drones.”
Their first model was made of three to five parts, said 2nd MBCT’s Command Sgt. Maj. Eric Guevara, but it wasn’t super-efficient to put together, so they redesigned it.
https://www.defenseone.com/technology/2025/06/army-brigade-tests-renewable-tech-pacific-exercise/405814/?oref=d1-homepage-top-story
