Editor’s Note: The 21st TSC is leading the initiative to develop and align advanced manufacturing capabilities for the U.S. Army and its partners in Europe. Like many U.S. Army units, the 21st TSC is building an innovation center for Soldiers and U.S. Army Europe and Africa units to develop materiel solutions for their equipment and vehicles. This will support Soldier-led innovation, solving critical capability gaps at the point of need. Additionally, the 21st TSC is aligning and coordinating other innovation cells and advanced manufacturing capabilities across the theater to create a unity of effort.
KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany – To advance this effort, Maj. Gen. Michael Lalor, the 21st Theater Sustainment Command’s commanding general, hosted an advanced manufacturing demonstration on U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria in Grafenwöhr, Germany, on November 13, 2025. The demonstration brought together uniformed and civilian U.S. Army leaders to communicate the command’s strategy and plan for building a complementary network of advanced manufacturing capabilities across the European theater, designed to target an unresponsive supply chain and build “materiel magazine depth”.
The emphasis on advanced manufacturing stems from the desire to overcome limitations within the U.S. Army’s traditional supply and logistics systems used to maintain readiness and deliver combat ready forces. The demonstration was an opportunity to release and brief the USAREUR-AF theater strategy for advanced manufacturing, discuss future investment into advanced manufacturing capabilities, and help senior leaders visualize the immediate impacts advanced manufacturing can have on unit readiness.
Lalor, who also serves as the USAREUR-AF deputy commanding general for sustainment, spoke at the demonstration and opened by emphasizing the progress Army units have been making in advanced manufacturing capabilities, but also stressed the need to build a network connecting those capabilities and technical data across the theater.
“There's a lot of good efforts going on across the Army the last couple years, from the industrial base all the way forward in terms of manufacturing and trying to get ourselves moving so we can produce at the point of need,” said Lalor. “We need to get the power of our enterprise behind this so we can manufacture where we need to because this is a preview of how we're going to fight going forward. This is a strategic investment in readiness.”
Lalor indicated large-scale combat operations will require more than disjointed “points of advanced manufacturing excellence” and that unity of effort across the theater is necessary to produce repair parts and small unmanned aerial systems, or sUAS, at scale.
“I think it's our job now, in this forward operating theater to align our efforts and put some metal where it needs to be and help ourselves make sure that we can be ready and we can fight,” said Lalor. “That's what I really want to make sure we can do here.”
Demonstration attendees were educated on current capabilities of the Maintenance Activity Vilseck, or MAV, the Metal Working and Machine Shop Set, or MWMSS, and future capabilities of the Rapid Fabrication via Advanced Manufacturing on the Battlefield, or R-FAB. The demonstration highlighted the potential for advancements by collaborating with organizations like the Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, also known as DEVCOM.
The MAV is equipped with advanced tools and technologies which enable it to perform a wide range of repair and maintenance tasks to ensure military equipment remains operational and mission ready. This makes the MAV a critical asset in USAREUR-AF’s logistics and maintenance framework. Attendees were briefed about the capabilities of the MAV and the evolution which took place within the organization to get it to its current state.
Discussions about the MWMSS highlighted its metal component production and repair capabilities, as well as its ability to deliver at the point of need. Units can utilize the MWMSS to fabricate parts on-site, significantly reducing downtime and reliance on supply chains with long lead times for parts. The MWMSS provides commanders with a transportable or semi-mobile option to add flexibility to the theater sustainment concept.
During the forum, Lalor also addressed fostering relationships with allies, partners, and industry leaders.
“Advanced manufacturing is not going to solve every supply chain need. It is going to be a supplemental or complementary system where we can fill some of our supply chain gaps, make sure we can produce what we need to, and be creative and be innovative at the point of need,” said Lalor. “When you think about our operational theater it is not only what the U.S. Army can do, but what we can do with our partners here internationally, and what we can do with our industry partners.”
The event underscored the Army's commitment to improving organic manufacturing capabilities while also innovating with plans to establish an Army wide repository for repair parts. The 21st TSC will build on U.S. Army Materiel Command’s efforts by building a theater-wide parts repository. This initiative will enhance collaboration, improve efficiency, and ensure Soldiers have access to the data resources necessary for maintaining operational effectiveness.
Overall, the forum served as an invaluable platform for sharing knowledge and fostering collaboration among theater and operational sustainment. With a clear strategy in place, the 21st TSC is poised to lead efforts to modernize logistics, deliver effects in the European theater, and ensure the U.S. military remains agile and responsive in an increasingly complex operational environment.
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