Apr 28, 2016 | By Alec
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has been talking about changes and drastic measures for months now, so we suppose it was only a matter of time before he turned his attention towards revolutionary technologies such as 3D printing. And he did so yesterday, during a long-awaited foreign policy speech for The Center for the National Interest in Washington, D.C. During the speech, Trump briefly talked about the state of America’s military technology, and argued that the country needs to use 3D printing, artificial intelligence, and cyberwarfare to make the US military unrivalled in the 21rst century.
Trump, who has been his party’s frontrunner for some time now, has been repeatedly criticized for not talking about foreign policy in detail and therefore dedicated his 40 minute speech for The Center for the National Interest to the subject. Political analysts have said the speech largely mirrored other comments on the state of the country and then necessity for changes. Among other things, Trump criticized the random foreign policy decisions of previous administrations, and called for replacing ideology with strategy. “American interests and security [must be placed] above all else,” he said.
As part of that argument, he called for the strengthening of the US military to compete with other superpowers in the world. “We have to rebuild our military and our economy,” he said. “The Russians and Chinese have rapidly expanded their military capability, but look at what’s happened to us. Our military dominance must be unquestioned — and I mean unquestioned by anybody and everybody.” If elected, he promises to realize this by harnessing the country’s technological superiority for the development of unrivalled military equipment. “We need to think smarter about areas where our technological superiority – and nobody comes close – gives us an edge. This includes 3D printing, artificial intelligence, and cyber-warfare,” Trump argued.
Unfortunately, the Republican frontrunner offered no further details. In fact, 3D printing and technology in general were only mentioned once throughout the 40 minute speech (which can be seen in its entirety below).
While 3D printable guns are not exactly realistic or affordable alternatives for currently used weapons, all US military branches are already experimenting with 3D printing. Several US warships have already tested metal 3D printers for impromptu repairs on the high seas, for example, while the US army is set to test military-purpose 3D printed drones in 2017. Perhaps his comments should be seen in the light of such developments? Only time, and a very strange election cycle, will tell.
Posted in 3D Printing Application
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"If I use technological buzzwords I read online, I will sound hip and intelligent!"
Robin Leech wrote at 4/28/2016 10:46:29 PM:
Yeah not only is 3D printing, AI, and cyberwarfare already being implimented by the military but the US military spending already accounts for like 40% of the WORLD's military, which is like 4 times as much as China. It's an undisputed fact that the US military is dominant. The only reason the Chinese etc. are building their military up and leveraging new technologies is because of the threat of the US empire's continual build-up and hunger for dominance. The real debate should be if we should start a new arms race, and can we afford to OR, should we attempt to de-escalate this, and focus on working together on something like they did with the International Space Station so humanity can have some Star Trek-like future colonizing the stars. At any rate, I think it's more likely Trump would pass the "Affordable Casino And Resort Act" that mandates everyone musty spend half their earnings at the "Federal Trump Casino and Resort".
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