3D printers keeping navy shipshape

The People's Liberation Army navy has begun to adopt cutting-edge additive manufacturing technology, commonly known as 3D printing, on its ships, according to PLA Daily.

One of the transmission gears on a navy destroyer broke suddenly when the vessel was anchoring at its home port after an operation at sea in the past week. The part was repaired using a 3D printer on board the ship, the report said.

"We have benefited from the use of 3D printing technology," Ren Yalun, an officer in the ship's mechanical and electrical section, told PLA Daily.