Manufacturing drones and producing potable water are some of the renewable combat capabilities being executed forward by a 25th Infantry Division brigade in the Philippines, said Maj. Gen. Marcus Evans, the division’s commanding general.

Leveraging the resources of the Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center-Exportable headquartered at Fort Shafter, Hawaii, and the 7th Infantry Division, the 25th Infantry Division’s 2nd Mobile Brigade Combat Team recently conducted realistic training with U.S. allies and partners during exercises at Fort Magsaysay in the Philippines.

Designated as a transforming in contact brigade last fall, the 2nd Mobile Brigade has used some 200 pieces of equipment, to include mission command systems, for testing and experimentation, Evans said during a June 4 call with reporters.

While the division has more than 300 drones, by deploying with additive manufacturing equipment, the brigade has produced dozens more drones for immediate use by soldiers. “We started this initiative at the beginning of this year, … which is a deployable 3D-printing capability forward into the region,” Evans said.

The drones are being 3D-printed by soldiers specially trained to operate additive manufacturing equipment through the division’s Lightning Lab, an innovation center at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.

On the ground in the Philippines, the drones were even improved upon, said brigade Command Sgt. Maj. Eric Guevara, who explained that the 3D lab developed a single-component frame that’s easier to assemble than a previous frame that involved three to five parts.

By using off-the-shelf components such as motors and cameras, Guevara said, soldiers were able to assemble three to four drones per hour, a pace that “definitely increases our lethality.”

“The bottom line is the soldiers here on the ground are absolutely working through the challenges that we encounter with drones,” Guevara said. “Initially, when they were created, the motors we were putting in were just a little too strong, so we had some warrant officers come together and start to tailor and fine-tune those drones so they’re easily maneuverable and less likely to have incidents in flight.”

The brigade also has extended the range of its drones from a short-range reconnaissance capability of about 3 kilometers to up to 30 kilometers, Evans said.

For the training event, the brigade deployed with a Tactical Water Purification System. Pulling water from an “existing source,” Evans said, thousands of gallons of purified water has been produced and distributed by land and air, eliminating the logistical challenge that comes with relying on bottled water.

Being able to train with these systems forward gave soldiers the opportunity to work alongside the Philippine Army and the 7th Infantry Division, Evans said. “To be able to take this newly developed and fielded equipment that started in the fall time period has afforded soldiers the opportunity to innovate with this and provide bottom up feedback,” Evans said, noting that it all is taking place in a jungle environment during monsoon season, affording soldiers the chance to work through additional environmental factors to “truly understand capability limitations and operational employment considerations.”