Can new drones, 3D printers defeat distance’s tyranny? RIMPAC aims to find out

SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, Hawaii—Replacing broken parts and resupplying ships at sea is a challenge anywhere, but in the Pacific theater, that problem is magnified by thousands of miles of sea water. Now, as part of the sprawling Rim of the Pacific, the U.S. military is practicing how it might use tech like self-driving boats and 3D printers that can be thrown out of airplanes to overcome the region’s oft-lamented tyranny of distance.“We are piloting this program during RIMPAC to exp