Drone factory in a trailer: French artillery prints quadcopters on site

The 17th Artillery Group of the French Army has had an autonomous mobile drone factory for six months. The unit is based in Biscarrosse on the Bay of Biscay, about 60 kilometres south-west of Bordeaux. “Fabrique Mobile Autonome de Drones” (FMA 3D) is a container workshop on a single-axle trailer towed by an ACMAT VT4 4×4 SUV. Ten 3D printers work in the air-conditioned container; a generator allows 19 hours of autonomous operation.

Each of the ten printers needs three hours for the chassis of a quadcopter drone. It becomes operational only once motor, propellers, electronics and camera are fitted. This allows at most about 60 drones a day.

Ce n’est pas un nouveau blindé de l’armée de Terre.
Ce n’est pas non plus la dernière version d’une arme bourrée de technologie.
C’est la FMAD. Et elle peut être tout aussi redoutable sur le champ de bataille… ⤵️@CDC17GA #Innovation pic.twitter.com/7xqTRzR5cm— Armée de Terre (@armeedeterre) May 27, 2025

What the drone factory is for

The mobile autonomous factory is intended to produce drones close to the area of operations. This provides some logistical autonomy, allows production on demand based on the available 3D blueprints and, if needed, the repair of damaged drones.

The mobile drone factory was designed and built by Per Se Systems, a Périgord company founded in 2023. Besides the air conditioning, an extractor hood removes fumes from the cabin, and a roof-mounted solar panel powers the interior lighting. The aim was silent operation in sensitive environments.