Florida firm uses robotic 3D printers to build military drone boat

Haddy said the TF-179 was built with giant robotic 3D printers at its facility, which spans roughly 30,000 square feet and houses eight large-format CEAD printing systems. Seven of the machines run on rails, allowing them to produce unusually large single-piece components without seams. The company started in 2022 making custom furniture and architectural pieces before shifting much of its focus toward defense manufacturing.

Haddy previously used the same process to print a carbon-fiber-reinforced hull for HavocAI, delivering a testable vessel from design to sea trial within nine days. In a statement, Haddy said, "The maritime industry is redefining how vessels are designed and manufactured." The company released photographs of the finished TF-179 but offered no details about its intended mission.

According to Haddy, demand for small, expendable maritime drones has surged across the U.S. defense industry over the past year. The company has also partnered with Blue Ops, the maritime drone division of Red Cat Holdings, to help double production capacity for uncrewed surface vessels. Blue Ops sells those drone boats to U.S. and allied militaries as smaller, cheaper alternatives to crewed patrol vessels.

Haddy was founded by Jay Rogers, a former Marine and Princeton graduate who previously led 3D-printing venture Local Motors. The company opened what it describes as the world's largest 3D printing facility, based on total throughput and machine count, in April 2025.

This trend toward faster, cheaper naval hardware follows lessons drawn from Ukraine's war against Russia in the Black Sea, where inexpensive drone boats have repeatedly damaged or destroyed far more expensive warships. Cheap drones have also been used in Iran to track expensive aircraft, including a $60 million U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle and multiple $30 million MQ-9 Reaper drones. These outcomes have pushed defense planners to prioritize speed and volume over traditional shipbuilding timelines. Small, disposable drone boats can be replaced and redesigned far more quickly than a single multimillion-dollar warship. Robotic additive manufacturing fits into this approach because Haddy can adjust a vessel's design digitally and print a new version within days. Conventional shipbuilding can take years, a pace increasingly seen as too slow for today's threats.

Haddy has not said whether the TF-179 design will be adapted for other military customers beyond the unnamed client. Whether this printed approach can match the durability and long-term reliability of conventionally built naval vessels remains to be seen.