--- title: "Marine’s 3D printed antenna has saved Corps estimated $600k to date" url: https://www.voxelmatters.com/marines-3d-printed-antenna-has-saved-corps-estimated-600k-to-date/ date: 2026-03-05 modified: 2026-03-05 lang: en author: "Joseph Caron-Dawe" description: "The use of additive manufacturing in military operations is nothing new, but it is still a relatively fledgling area of innovation and development. The opportunities and untapped potential remain vast,..." categories: - "3D Printing Processes" - "Defense" - "Engineering" tags: - "future" image: https://www.voxelmatters.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Marine-antenna-01-640x427.jpg word_count: 897 --- # Marine’s 3D printed antenna has saved Corps estimated $600k to date [The use of additive manufacturing in military operations is nothing new](https://www.voxelmatters.com/johns-hopkins-apl-and-navsea-3d-print-military-hardware/), but it is still a relatively fledgling area of innovation and development. The opportunities and untapped potential remain vast, and stories of ingenuity and creative approaches to problem-solving continue popping up from [drones](https://www.voxelmatters.com/us-marine-corps-develops-its-first-ndaa-approved-3d-printed-drone/) to [food](https://www.voxelmatters.com/el-ejercito-de-estados-unidos-explora-la-posibilidad-de-usar-alimentos-impresos-en-3d-como-solucion-militar/). One such instance has highlighted the [core benefits of AM not only in the military](https://www.voxelmatters.com/how-the-us-navy-embraced-am-in-2025/), but in wider industry: cutting lead times, reducing waste, and saving on costs. A US Marine with a machining background has designed a 3D printed replacement mast for a widely used communications antenna, delivering a parts solution that the US Marine Corps estimates has saved approximately $600,000 and eliminated the equivalent of more than 60 years of combined supply wait time. Lance Cpl. Eirick Schule, an engineer equipment operator with 2nd Distribution Support Battalion, Combat Logistics Regiment 2, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, developed the replacement mast for the Mobile User Object System (MOUS) antenna in late April 2025. ![A US Marine with a machining background has designed a 3D printed replacement mast for a widely used communications antenna, delivering a parts solution that the US Marine Corps estimates has saved approximately $600,000 and eliminated the equivalent of more than 60 years of combined supply wait time](https://www.voxelmatters.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Marine-antenna-02-340x227.jpg)The HANX 3D printed drone in test flight action Schule was assigned to the II Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF) Innovation Campus at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, at the time of the design. Prior to joining the Marine Corps in 2022, Schule worked as a machine operator, during which time he gained significant experience on CNC machinery. The problem Schule was tasked with solving was widespread. Fiberglass MOUS antenna masts were becoming brittle and breaking from operational use and environmental exposure, leaving units across the Fleet Marine Force without critical communications capability. Replacement parts cost just over $5,600 each and in many instances were taking more than 220 days to deliver after an order was placed. In some cases, the purchase of an entirely new antenna assembly, rather than the mast alone, was being made. ## From armory to innovation campus Schule's path to the project began at the 2nd Distribution Support Battalion armory, where he worked as an armory custodian from February 2024 to March 2025. There, he connected with Master Gunnery Sergeant Jacobson, who introduced him to the [II MEF Innovation Campus](https://www.voxelmatters.com/u-s-marines-ii-mef-innovation-campus-hosts-am-course-for-marines/). “Master Gunnery Sergeant Jacobson, who is now retired, came up to me and we had a conversation about how I wanted to be a machinist again,” stated Schule. “He said, ‘I know about this place called the Innovation Campus, and I think you'll be a really good fit there’.” After completing a basic additive manufacturing course at the campus, Schule joined the staff as an AM instructor from March to December 2025. During his first week, Marines from 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines, 2nd Marine Regiment walked in with broken MOUS antenna masts and no clear supply solution. “I was standing in the conversation, observing and listening, and then Chief Warrant Officer 3 Matthew Pine handed me the item and said, ‘make something’,” said Schule. ## Iteration, field testing, and scale The design process required experimentation, and printing the mast vertically caused it to fracture at stress points, so Schule shifted to horizontal printing, which improved structural integrity. The final design went through form, fit, and function testing at the campus before Marines from 2/8 took four printed pieces on a month-long field operation, confirming the masts withstood all elements and exercises. “Being in an environment where I could apply my hobby felt nice,” said Schule. “Because my rank wasn't the most important thing when it came to voicing my opinions and working at something. It made work feel less like an obligation and more of something where I was a willing participant.” ![A US Marine with a machining background has designed a 3D printed replacement mast for a widely used communications antenna, delivering a parts solution that the US Marine Corps estimates has saved approximately $600,000 and eliminated the equivalent of more than 60 years of combined supply wait time](https://www.voxelmatters.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Marine-antenna-03-227x340.jpg)The MUOS antenna replacement mast, created by Schule Each mast produced at the Innovation Campus costs approximately $10 in consumable materials and takes approximately 10 hours to print. To date, the campus has produced 40 replacement pieces for 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division. Separately, 1st Maintenance Battalion, 1st Combat Readiness Regiment, 1st Marine Logistics Group, used Schule's design to produce 67 pieces for units across Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in California, bringing the total to 107 masts. That equates to a cost saving of $600k. Pine, the II MEF Innovation Campus Officer in Charge, stated the scale of the problem became clear during a joint exercise. “I went to a joint exercise in April 2025, and we looked at how many of these pieces were broken across the Marine Corps, and it was over one million dollars’ worth,” he said. “Having Schule on the staff has been great. Whenever he receives a project, he just works at it until it is completed.” The Innovation Campus has subsequently launched a broader initiative. “We started the ‘proof of principle’, with 2nd MLG in July or August, where we innovate supply solutions to improve readiness by resolving supply latency issues,” explained Pine. “I'm not going to wait for you to tell me you have a problem; I can look at your back order and tell you that you have a problem. Here's the solution: take it and do good things.” “Seeing something I designed being used and to know that I made an imprint that mattered to the Marine Corps makes me extremely happy,” added Schule. “Now that I'm back in the [Fleet Marine Force] I am very eager to see my product I designed be used. Especially because I'm now in a communication battalion, so my likelihood of seeing it again is extremely high.”