Senator Warner speaks on domestic drone production inspired by Ukraine

By Grace Bennett

On June 12, drone-producing company RapidFlight hosted a “fireside chat” panel with Senator Mark Warner and Axios Future of Defense Columnist Colin Demarest. Employees of RapidFlight offered an inside look at the 3D Drone plant assembly process after a Q&A with Warner regarding the U.S.’s position in the domestic drone industry.

Warner opened his discussion with raising awareness over the enormous engineering competition with China and Russia, especially in terms of the military. He warned that there are “a litany of areas in which we are in a race” with opposing countries.

He declared that drones are changing the whole nature of war. “All of those activities,” he said in regard to the country’s defense, “are being completely rethought now … [we] need to rethink how modern warfare is going to pan out.”

The idea was inspired by a new operation in Ukraine dubbed “Spiderweb.” In this operation, Ukraine has been able to smuggle drones into Siberia to launch against Russia—with impressive success. Teams of engineers are able to assemble fully functional drones within record times and for as cheap as $200-300 each. “It’s jaw-dropping,” said Warner. 

And the U.S. is taking notes. By using filament to 3D print all of the pieces of a drone, production is already much cheaper and quicker than it was just a few years prior. 

Even with this decrease in expenses, though, there is skepticism over the defense budget’s continual rise. Warner reminded attendees that it is not sustainable to support and grow all U.S. departments all the time; certain platforms will need to be selected for retirement to sustain spending in the most urgent areas.

When asked about the role of 3D printing within the military in the near future, Warner responded, “Of course I’m for 3D printing … we’re going to need a workforce that knows how to build and operate a 3D printer.” 

The expansion of education in this particular field will hopefully prove to be a major step in the right direction. Warner expressed that, if community colleges are able to incorporate a program geared towards 3D printing, then the manufacturing industry will improve its efficiency, sustainability, and employee retention.

Ukraine’s Spiderweb operation has raised more questions than just those regarding drone production. Having seen the successes of Spiderweb in Russia, people are questioning whether the U.S. is equipped to deal with an attack of the same nature.

“No,” was Warner’s immediate answer. Hearkening back to an earlier situation, he said, “For 23 days straight, there were swarms of drones flying over Langley.” Warner explained that during that time, it was unclear who was responsible and how the issue should be handled. The U.S. needs improvements in drone defense protocols as well as in production.

The Department of Defense, according to Warner, needs to “invest in innovation.” The Senate needs to take part in driving the country to global leadership in the creative engineering process to maximize the potential of modern defenses.
There is a “better investment climate today than it was two or three years ago.”

“We are as well positioned as any place in the country to be a leading site,” added Warner regarding Virginia’s involvement in the drone industry. “If we don’t take [Ukraine’s] lessons, shame on us.”