Overview:
Advanced materials and production technologies, including additive manufacturing and new energy-dense materials, fundamentally alter expeditionary logistics, basing flexibility, and sustainment tempo.
Doctrinal Impact:
Impacts Combat Support and Air Mobility Operations, challenging current assumptions on:
· Supply chain resilience
· Rapid repair and part replacement
· Forward operating base construction and survivability
· Command decisions on distributed basing and sustainment concepts
Application in Discovery:
Discovery should examine how:
· Additive manufacturing capabilities can be embedded within agile combat employment (ACE) nodes
· Advanced composites increase platform stealth, survivability, and logistics ease
· New materials impact aerospace system design for contested logistics environments
Expected Outcomes:
Doctrine recommendations will inform ACE, sustainment doctrine, and adaptive basing strategies to leverage production innovations in future conflict settings.