Marines and Sailors with the 1st Maintenance Battalion conducted Exercise Phoenix FEX 2-26 at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, evaluating advanced manufacturing and expeditionary logistics in a contested environment.
Operating from subterranean facilities alongside industry partners such as Phillips Federal, Marines managed self-contained, deployable 3D print farms capable of generating 10 drones per day, while concurrently launching interceptor drones to thwart simulated adversary attacks. These print farms were exercised on 24-hour operations to measure production limitations, demonstrating a potential output of over 1,400 drones a month. The unit tested systems under persistent surveillance and degraded communications, executing continuous manufacturing operations alongside live-fire ranges and tactical combat casualty care.
The battalion also integrated custom artificial intelligence platforms developed by TAGUP into supply chain management, utilizing enterprise data and large language models to predict maintenance strategies and source repair parts. Technicians deployed multiple maintenance support teams across training areas, performing over 4,500 labor hours and repairing critical equipment items, as reported by DVIDS.
Maintenance personnel rebuilt Amphibious Combat Vehicle brake calipers and wheel end assemblies to generate component cost savings, while fabrication specialists utilized mobile machine shops to machine high-grade tool steel into unsupplied tool kits. Senior leaders deployed an intermediate maintenance company to a secondary location to rehearse distributed logistics and task-organized multifunctional maintenance across a contested operational area.
