CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. – May 2026 – Phillips Federal was hosted by the 1st Marine Logistics Group at the 1st Maintenance Battalion to successfully test a revolutionary approach to battlefield logistics: containerizing an expeditionary drone farm powered by Markforged X7 3D Printers.   

As operational demands intensified and traditional supply lines were stretched, Phillips Corporation Federal Division deployed the mobile manufacturing system. Designed specifically for the tactical edge, the Drone Farm proved that advanced additive manufacturing can deliver mission-critical capabilities precisely when and where they are needed, transforming how the U.S. military produces, sustains, and innovates in austere environments. 

Housed in an air-mobile ISU-90 container, the system integrated six Markforged X7 printers—the same platform already fielded through the Marine Corps X-FAB program. With minimal setup, Marines opened the container doors and powered the printers. What traditionally required hours of complex preparation was reduced to minutes, instantly creating a complete production cell with integrated inventory management and assembly.

Operating in parallel, the six printers produced components for a custom NDAA-compliant Group 1 First Person View (FPV) drone using BlueUAS-compatible parts. During the exercise, the Drone Farm manufactured three fully operational FPV drones using Markforged Onyx material, selected for its superior strength-to-weight ratio and suitability for both training and combat use.  

From digital design to first flight, the full production cycle from design, printing, assembly, and testing was completed in a matter of hours of print time and just one hour of hands-on assembly in the field. This rapid capability directly addresses the demands of modern conflict, where FPV drones have become essential tools for engaging personnel, armored vehicles, and maritime targets. 

“We are just getting started at providing optionality through customized containerization that is configured precisely to drone production capability at the point of need” says Patrick Tucker, Colonel, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.), Strategic Business Development Manager at Phillips Federal. 

“We’re designing capability tailored to the remotest location like an Expeditionary Advanced Based Operation and are enabling capability further forward than originally thought possible.  Additionally, we’re enabling more robust capability at a more mature forward operating base and containerizing and configuring it to the power infrastructure and more permissive operating environment that a forward operating base offers.  This is a scalable approach that interlocks capacity in tune with combat power apportionment across an area of operations.”

The Expeditionary Drone Farm underscores Phillips Federal’s commitment to delivering resilient, scalable manufacturing solutions to the U.S. military. In partnership with Markforged, they are redefining logistics in contested and austere environments, accelerating innovation, strengthening supply chain resilience, and preserving warfighter lethality at the speed of relevance. 

About Markforged 

Markforged is enabling more resilient and flexible manufacturing by bringing industrial 3D printing right to the factory floor. Our additive manufacturing platform The Digital Forge allows manufacturers to create strong, accurate parts in both metal and advanced composites. With over 10,000 customers in 70+ countries, we’re bringing on-demand industrial production to the point of need. We are headquartered in Waltham, Mass., where we design the hardware, software and advanced materials that make The Digital Forge reliable and easy to use. To learn more, visit www.markforged.com. 

About Phillips 

Phillips Federal, a division of Phillips Corporation, is the largest supplier of advanced manufacturing technology and services to the U.S. federal government. With decades of experience, Phillips Federal offers tailored solutions for aerospace, defense, energy, and other government applications. Through innovation, expertise, and strategic partnerships, Phillips Federal delivers the tools and technologies federal agencies need to achieve their mission objectives.   Learn more at www.phillipscorp.com/federal/. 

For further information, please contact: 

Lauren Ramsey, Vice President, US Marketing  

Phillips Corporation 
Email: LRamsey@phillipscorp.com  
Phone: (501) 993-0520  

Phillips Federal News

How to use a CNC Waterjet Cutter Machine

Phillips Corporation And Markforged Doing Additive Manufacturing for US Defense

If there is one thing constant about processes, it is that they can always be changed for the better. The manufacturing sector is no exception to this principle. In line with the philosophy of consistent innovation and improvement, Phillips Corporation has collaborated with Markforged. 

 Phillips and Markforged – a Match Made in 3D Printing Heaven 

Celebrated as one of the pioneers and leaders in additive manufacturing, Phillips Corporation already offers a powerful portfolio of additive manufacturing equipment, for instance, Cold Spray and Direct Energy Deposition equipment and Metal and Polymer Powder Beds. The company, through its Phillips Federal division, is also the leading supplier of additive manufacturing equipment for Federal Departments of the United States of America, including the Department of Defense. 

Markforged is the organization that has generated the Digital Forge, which is a platform for industrial 3D printers, combining metal and carbon fiber for efficient 3D printing. Phillips Corporation shall now distribute the Markforged Digital Forge Platform

With the coming together of Phillips, which has a strong base for additive and subtractive manufacturing equipment alike, and Markforged, which is renowned for its Artificial Intelligence-enabled additive manufacturing equipment, the 3D printing industry is set to usher in a new dawn. 

What Markforged Brings To The Table

Markforged’s Digital Forge Platform has been revolutionizing Just-in-Time manufacturing for a diverse range of sectors, including defense, aerospace, healthcare, and manufacturing. The company manufactures industrial 3D printing materials using several metals, continuous fibers, and composites. 

The processes and equipment manufactured by Markforged are compatible with CNC manufacturing. With the application of the Continuous Fiber Reinforcement process, continuous fiber is layered into Onyx. This results in the creation of robust equipment. 

What The Collaboration Means For The Additive Manufacturing Industry

The addition of the Markforged platform to Phillips’ already formidable additive manufacturing portfolio is a harbinger of high-quality equipment and services for the company’s customers. With the availability of excellent 3D printers such as the Markforged FX20, customers can access a variety of solutions, including the manufacture of end-use parts and customized fixtures. 

You can find out more about the collaboration and its offerings here.

Phillips Federal News

Phillips Corporation boosts its strong additive manufacturing portfolio with the addition of the Markforged Digital Forge

Current machinaries by Phillips Federal

Hanover, Md. and Watertown, Mass. – February 25, 2021 – Phillips Corporation, a leading solutions provider of subtractive and additive (3D Printing) manufacturing technology products and services to both commercial and federal government markets, and Markforged, creator of The Digital Forge, an integrated metal and carbon fiber industrial 3D printing platform, today announced that Phillips Corporation will distribute Markforged’s artificial intelligence (AI)-powered and intuitive additive manufacturing platform. The addition of the Markforged platform strengthens Phillips’ robust portfolio of additive technology products that includes metal and polymer powder beds, cold spray and direct energy deposition.

The Digital Forge seamlessly combines precise and reliable 3D printers and both metal and composite proprietary materials with cloud-based learning software to empower manufacturers to create more resilient and agile supply chains. The platform creates strong end-use parts directly at the point-of-need and gets smarter after each print delivering cost and time savings for manufacturers when compared to traditional solutions.

Markforged’s portfolio of industrial-grade 3D printing materials include a wide variety of metals, composites and continuous fiber materials. Blue chip customers in leading edge industries such as aerospace, military & defense, industrial automation, space exploration, healthcare and automotive rely on The Digital Forge today for mission critical end-use parts on-demand and at the point-of-need. Markforged’s solutions are complementary to traditional CNC manufacturing while creating new opportunities for both job shops and manufacturers. The company’s Continuous Fiber Reinforcement (CFR) process layers continuous fiber into Onyx, the company’s flagship composite base material, yielding parts that can be as strong as aluminum.

Whether it is improving a just-in-time manufacturing process, making custom work holding or fixtures, or solving applications from prototyping to end-use to MRO, the Markforged platform will bring additional capability and growth potential for Phillips customers. With Markforged, Phillips Corporation customers can reinvent manufacturing today so they can build anything they imagine tomorrow.

“Partnering with Phillips Corporation provides Markforged with additional distribution across the Americas and Asia while giving Phillips’ commercial and federal government customers more tools to help them reinvent manufacturing and run more efficiently,” said Shai Terem, CEO at Markforged. “With Markforged, Phillips Corporation customers can harness the power of additive to do everything from optimizing their supply chains by producing parts on demand to truly transforming their businesses.”

“Phillips Corporation is extremely pleased to be joining forces with Markforged and introducing their products to our large base of commercial and federal government customers,” said Phillips CEO Alan M. Phillips. “We intend to pursue the tremendous potential for our subtractive customers to be introduced to the Markforged price-competitive design-to-print additive technology. Considering that both the commercial and federal industrial supply chains have accelerating interest, applications, and demand for 3D printed parts, the Markforged product lineup is an optimal fit for customers seeking to enter or expand upon their additive manufacturing capability. This is a very exciting time in the rapid evolution of additive manufacturing. We are pleased to be collaborating with Markforged and together being leading contributors to the global additive manufacturing revolution.”

Phillips Corporation customers may contact markforged@phillipscorp.com to learn more about Markforged’s array of additive manufacturing hardware, software and materials. To learn more about Markforged, visit https://markforged.com.

  

About Phillips Corporation

For more than 60 years, federal government, private sector industry and education leaders have trusted the experts at Phillips Corporation to solve their greatest manufacturing challenges. Our mission is to create legendary value for the manufacturing community by unlocking solutions to propel capabilities, profitability and productivity. Phillips represents a robust combination of equipment, applications expertise, and services that are well-suited to meet the growing range of present and future manufacturing applications requirements.   Learn more about Phillips at www.phillipscorp.com

 

About Markforged

Markforged transforms manufacturing with 3D metal and continuous carbon fiber printers capable of producing parts tough enough for the factory floor. Engineers, designers, and manufacturing professionals all over the world rely on Markforged metal and composite printers for tooling, fixtures, functional prototyping, and high-value end-use production. Founded in 2013 and based in Watertown, MA, Markforged has about 300 employees globally, with $137 million in both strategic and venture capital. Markforged was recently recognized by Forbes in the Next Billion-Dollar Startups list, and listed as the #2 fastest-growing hardware company in the US in the 2019 Deloitte Fast 500. To learn more about Markforged, please visit https://markforged.com.

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