A YouTuber group posted a video earlier this week purporting to show the "world's first" 3D-printed 'rocket launcher' that they used to fire at targets, though the demonstration was anything but impressive.
The video shows three men working to demonstrate the 'capability' of the 'rocket launcher,' though most of the firings were unsuccessful. At one point, a minor explosive projectile blasted a hole in a door that was being used as a target, but the rest of the time the demonstrations bordered on comical.
"Youtuber Ordnance Lab (also known as Ordnance Lab LLC and holds a Type 10 FFL) published a video showing what they say is the 'world’s first 3D printed rocket launcher,'" Zero Hedge reported.
“In this video we team up with D&S Creations, who have developed 3D printed rockets and rocket launchers. We test both a smaller caliber rocket and a larger one, along with a prototype for a shaped charge warhead. This is just the start of our working on 3D printed rockets. We have the launch and detonation figured out, now we need to work on getting the accuracy figured out,” Ordnance Lab noted in the video’s description.
"One firing test shows a 3D-printed rocket with a shaped charge denoting on a target. The narrator in the video said the 'flash powder charge produced a very bright and loud report,'" the outlet continued.
Zero Hedge noted that it was the first time a 3D-printed rocket launcher was demonstrated on video. Earlier this year, the outlet continued, another group, Deterrence Dispensed -- an online organization that promotes and distributes open-source 3D-printed firearm plans, posted a vid featuring a "66mm recoilless launcher."
But in that short video, we only see a hooded figure firing the launcher; there is no telling what the launcher actually shot and if it is really capable of doing any damage.
Deterrence Dispensed, the controversial 3D-printed weapons syndicate (co-founded by JStark), has recently released a new project.
This is a 66mm recoilless launcher with shoulder rest attachments, allowing it to convert to a mortar on the go. pic.twitter.com/esdUxNJD7g
— Jake Hanrahan (@Jake_Hanrahan) March 23, 2022
"Within a decade, 3D printing weapons have evolved from single-shot pistols to semiautomatic pistol carbines to rocket launchers. How is President Biden’s ATF going to counter people printing weapons at home? The simple answer is they can’t unless they ban printers and polylactic acid (PLA) filament, which we believe will be impossible," Zero Hedge reported.
And while all of that sounds promising to gun and 'weapons' enthusiasts, it's time to get real: If 3D-printed weapons were robust enough for serious use, as in combat, then the military would have turned to that process years ago.
The fact is, it's ridiculous to believe that a 3D-printed weapon, especially a rocket launcher or a mortar, could hold up to the rigors of combat, and certainly that is the ultimate point of these weapons. Otherwise, what would be the point?
What these folks have done is simply make a tube. Big deal; in order to have an actual explosive rocket, that requires explosives, which is the part that counts. And the only way to get them without having a special federal license that isn't cheap is by being a felon and violating all kinds of statutes -- or steal the explosives from somewhere. Making the launcher is the easy part (obviously); but making a robust weapon system that can withstand the rigors of high-intensity warfare from a 3D printer setup is ludicrous. The makers of the tubes and launchers in this story appear to be shooting off regular fireworks; you can't 3D print a rocket or a massive shaped charge with a motor.
These tubes may be fun to play around with but they aren't any more serious as weapons of war than a potato gun.
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