Firestorm Labs 3D-Printed Drones Deployed Aboard USS Essex at RIMPAC 2026

What Firestorm Labs Did at RIMPAC 2026

Firestorm Labs deployed its containerized Xcell 3D-printing system aboard the USS Essex during RIMPAC 2026, producing over 1,000 parts while the ship was underway. The parts included complete Squall FPV drones, spare rotor droop stops for Apache helicopters, vacuum adapters for Life Preserver Units, deck tie-down gauges, valve handwheels, and Starlink mounts.

The Squall drone is the result of a partnership between Firestorm Labs and Orqa FPVs. Based on Orqa's MRM1-5 and MRM2-10 platforms, both of which have seen combat in Ukraine, the Squall carries 5.5-pound payloads at speeds up to 80 mph over roughly 20 miles. It can serve as an attack platform, a carrier drone, or a surveillance tool.

Why Printing at Sea Matters

The logistics chain for getting spare parts to a deployed ship is slow and expensive. A vessel at sea can wait days or weeks for a replacement part to arrive. Firestorm Labs printed the needed components on the open deck of the MV Asterix and the USS Essex, cutting that wait to hours.

The Xcell system relies on Cold Spray Additive Manufacturing. Metal powder is deposited at supersonic speed to build dense parts without melting the material. An integrated SPEE3Dcell post-processing and machining system lets a part move from raw print to finished component without leaving the ship.

Byron Kennedy, CEO of SPEE3D, described the conditions directly: printing metal parts on an open deck in heavy seas aboard the MV Asterix alongside the U.S. Navy and the Royal Canadian Navy. The deployment marks the first time cold spray metal printing was tested at sea underway.

Counter-UAS Training

The printed Squall drones did not simply sit in storage. During RIMPAC's counter-UAS exercises, they served as red cell adversary systems, giving naval crews realistic targets for training to neutralize incoming drone threats. The use of printed drones as training assets turns a supply-chain problem into a tactical rehearsal.

RIMPAC 2026 ran from June 24 through July 31 around the Hawaiian Islands. It brought together dozens of allied nations, 40 surface ships, five submarines, 140 aircraft, and over 25,000 personnel. CAMRE deployed more than 50 advanced manufacturing technologies across the exercise.

What This Means for Future Fleets

The USS Essex already uses 3D-printed parts in day-to-day operations, cutting availability lead times significantly. The RIMPAC deployment extends that capability into contested environments where resupply chains are deliberately disrupted.

3D-printed surgical tools for the ship's medical facilities represent another possible use. The Essex operates as a forward-deployed medical ship during crisis responses, and point-of-need manufacturing could let medical staff produce specialized instruments on demand.

This is not an experimental sidebar. Additive manufacturing capability is becoming a core requirement for future Navy ship design. The RIMPAC 2026 results give the Navy concrete data on throughput, part quality, and operational constraints before the next procurement cycle begins.