A Drone Factory at Sea: Firestorm Labs Tests Onboard Manufacturing with U.S. Navy

Firestorm produced more than 1,000 components for Squall UAVs and other critical equipment during a two-week voyage aboard the USS Essex.

By DRONELIFE Features Editor Jim Magill

With the goal of helping to ensure the U.S. military has rapid access to the tools needed to fulfill its mission, a San Diego-based manufacturer recently demonstrated its ability to manufacture UAV parts using 3D printer technology aboard a Navy ship at sea.

Firestorm Labs used its xCell containerized-manufacturing platform to produce more than 1,000 drone components aboard the USS Essex, a Wasp class amphibious assault ship, over a two-week voyage to the Rim of the Pacific 2026 (RIMPAC) military exercise in Hawaii. The components were then assembled to produce Firestorm’s Squall UAVs, to be used in target practice exercises.

 

In an interview, Firestorm CEO Dan Magy, said the demonstration proved that the Navy now has the ability to provide itself with its own drones and other equipment on board a ship at sea, without having to rely on equipment transfers from shore or other vessels.

“One of the big things the United States Navy told us is that they’re increasingly concerned about relying on traditional logistics to build and fix drones and other parts,” he said. “The phrase they use is contested logistics, and they believe that our solution is going to be integral in helping to solve some of these contested logistics challenges, like what we’re seeing in the Strait of Hormuz where no one can get in or around that water body of water.”

Facing maritime challenges, including operating in peak Sea State 5 conditions with 12-foot waves, the xCell additive-manufacturing equipment printed parts and equipment to assemble 12 Squall UAVs. The Squall’s, Firestorm’s FPV quadcopter, were then assembled and flown as “red cell” drones, used in simulated attacks in tests of the military’s counter-UAS equipment.

In addition to producing the drone parts, the Firestorm team used the 3D printer equipment to print repair parts requested by the Essex’s crew, to replace equipment that had been lost, broken or were otherwise unavailable at sea. These included significant pieces of equipment such as a rotor-guard droop stop for an Apache helicopter and a vacuum adapter for an inflatable life preserving unit (LPU). The technology also produced other custom-designed and -built equipment including gauges for deck tie-down inspection, reverse-engineered valve handwheels and a Starlink deployment mount.

“We were asked specifically by the surface warfare arm of the Navy, if could we test this capability at sea. It was to do a minor build of UAVs, but also it was just to see how sailors and Marines would use having this capability on the boat to solve other problems besides (building) drones,” Magy said.

He said the Firestorm team spent 12 days at sea then left the Essex and traveled to Schofield Barracks, an Army installation on Oahu island, where they continued to do 3-D printing of equipment as part of the military exercise. As one important aspect of their project, the Firestorm team trained personnel, including Marines from the 3rd Light Armor Reconnaissance Battalion, on the use of the 3D printing equipment.

The additive-manufacturing process is based on the use of HP Multi Jet Fusion printers. “It does a layer-based printing, as opposed to probably what you’re used to seeing, which is the desktop 3D printers that kind of look like a hot-glue gun running around on a pad,” Magy said.

The mobile additive-manufacturing equipment is designed to be compact enough to be used aboard even smaller ships than the Essex. Currently, it can be transported in two 20-foot shipping containers, but Magy said the Firestorm team is redesigning the equipment so that it can be transported in a single shipping container.

“Our goal is to get as much of this equipment onto US Navy ships as possible because it’s clearly solving real needs, which is manufacturing at the point of need,” he said.

Firestorm has sold a number of the xCell units to various branches of the U.S. military and to other government agencies, such as the U.S. Border Patrol as well as to civilian emergency response entities, such as Cal Fire. The company has also received a great deal of interest in the technology from companies in the oil and gas industry, Magy said.

In a statement on the use of additive-manufacturing equipment aboard U.S. vessels, Firestorm said the technology will save the Armed Forces time and money and enhance military preparedness.

“Every part printed on deck is a part that doesn’t have to be flown, shipped, or convoyed across contested waters, cutting the fuel, aircraft hours and personnel required to keep a vessel mission-capable. Repairs that once meant waiting days or weeks for a resupply run, or returning to port entirely, can now happen in hours while the ship stays on station,” the statement says.

“One of the biggest complaints that we’ve been addressing for the United States Army is with both their military and their commercial drones. When they break, the lead time to get some of these parts is massive. And we’re filling in the gap,” Magy said.

Read more:

• Engineering Without Compromise: How HP Additive Manufacturing Helped EIVIE Build an NDAA-Compliant Drone
• Designing the Optimal Drone: How HP Additive Manufacturing Enables Speed, Scale, and Supply-Chain Flexibility
• US Drone Makers Are Building a Different Kind of Factory