From ramps to railheads, Marines explore uses for 3D-printed concrete on Okinawa

Two Marines in camouflage uniforms stand next to a concrete structure, while another Marine in camouflage leans over while standing on top of the structure and a fourth Marine sits in the driver’s seat of a heavy lifter in the background.

Members of the 9th Engineer Support Battalion, 3rd Marine Logistics Group use 3D concrete printing technology to create structures at Camp Hansen, Okinawa, on Sept. 15, 2025. (Ryan M. Breeden/Stars and Stripes)

CAMP HANSEN, Okinawa — Marines are applying advances in 3D-printed concrete to military uses ranging from ramps to makeshift railheads, according to the operations chief of the 9th Engineer Support Battalion.

First conceived in the 1930s, 3D concrete printing gained momentum in the 1980s with improvements in technology and materials that allow small teams to build homes, bridges and other structures quickly and at lower costs.

“Over the last two decades, 3D concrete printing has established itself as a leading digital fabrication technology in the concrete industry,” said a December 2023 paper published in Science Direct.

For the Marine Corps, the technology could mean rapidly constructed barracks, barriers or emergency housing after a natural disaster.

A large concrete structure stands in the foreground while Marines in camouflage uniforms stand next to another concrete structure in the background.

“You can tailor-make components for a solution, and it can be specific to the location you’re operating in,” Master Gunnery Sgt. Ty Ryan, operations chief for the Camp Hansen engineer battalion, said during a Sept. 11 tour of the unit’s 3D printing operation.

“You can also augment control points for things like military or civilian ports, print concrete ramps, and build makeshift railheads,” he said.

The first 3D-printed concrete home was built in 2004 in the Netherlands, according to Data Center Dynamics, an industry website. The market for 3D concrete construction grew to $3.5 billion in 2022 and is projected to reach $523.3 billion within four years, a June 2024 article on the site said.

In the military, the technology can be applied to a “full spectrum” of scenarios, from contested areas to humanitarian operations and training across the Indo-Pacific, Ryan said.

“We’re able to build barriers and structures like some currently utilized for the ongoing exercise Resolute Dragon,” he said. “We’ve been working with the leadership and our partners to learn and advance our process when applying this technology.”

A concrete structure with a doorway-like hole in the side sits next to a heavy lifter with a camouflage paint job.

Other service branches are also exploring 3D concrete printing.

The Automated Construction of Expeditionary Structures, or ACES, enables the Army to produce custom-designed buildings and materials, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ website.

In February, the service unveiled its first 3D-printed barracks at Fort Bliss, Texas. Each spans more than 5,700 square feet and can house up to 56 soldiers, according to a news release that month from the Army Engineer Research and Development Center.

In April, the Air Force’s 175th Civil Engineer Squadron at Martin State Air National Guard Base, Md., trained airmen to use similar equipment, the service said in a news release that month.

“Our team was trained to use the 3D Concrete Printer in just four days — a remarkably fast timeline for such a revolutionary technology,” Maj. Brian Vickers, project manager for the Expeditionary 3D Concrete Printer, said in the release. “By building with concrete, occupants of these buildings are far more protected from blasts, fragmentation, and small-arms fire.”