The Army and Navy may soon use alternative methods for building barracks, including 3D printing, in an effort to reduce the financial burden, according to a Defense Department release.
Top engineers for the respective services met with lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Tuesday to discuss the potential use of 3D printing and mass timber construction as a means of maximizing cost efficiency.
Dave Morrow, director of military programs for the Army Corps of Engineers, and Keith Hamilton, chief engineer for Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command, spoke with members of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense.
The group also discussed the use of high-performance cement, geosynthetics, composite materials, tension fabric structures, and carbon fiber-reinforced polymers, according to the release.
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“In an increasingly complex global security environment, our commitment to innovation in military construction is not just about building structures, it’s about building the resilience and readiness our forces need to prevail,” Morrow said. He emphasized the importance of using cutting-edge construction methods to deliver sustainable and cost-effective infrastructure to provide service members with high-end facilities.
Morrow said the technologies they seek to implement have already been put to use in several military installations. Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, and Fort Bliss, Texas, have already both used 3D printing, he pointed out, the latter specifically for projects involving barracks.
The Navy had already employed the use of mass timber, Hamilton said, to build a child development center in Hampton Roads, Virginia. The practice of mass timber construction involves sourcing structural beams that come from smaller lumber.
The first Army barracks made using mass timber structural elements was recently completed, according to Hamilton, with another potential mass timber project on the horizon at Mountain Home Air Force Base.
Hamilton also cited the use of high-performance concrete to build a F-35 Lighting II hanger at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina, as a viable method for future construction.
Riley Ceder is a reporter at Military Times, where he covers breaking news, criminal justice, investigations, and cyber. He previously worked as an investigative practicum student at The Washington Post, where he contributed to the Abused by the Badge investigation.
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