"The Army’s use of both metal and plastic mobile printers in the field, which can be easily transported between locations, is the first time in the world the technology has been used by any military in direct support of a large-scale NATO Exercise," the ministry said in a statement on Monday.
The printer is currently being used to maintain older vehicles by producing hard-to-find spare parts, the statement read. Later, it is planned to create catalogs of parts for new equipment, for example, Ajax and Boxer armored fighting vehicles, for printing spare parts in the field, the statement added.
The statement noted, however, that similar technology was previously tested by the Australian military, but this happened as part of "low level exercises."