Compass Points - Drones in a Box
New uses for old shipping containers
Compass Points - Drones in a Box
New uses for old shipping containers
August 6, 2026
.
One day perhaps Elon Musk and the US Marines will make the next leap in the military use of shipping containers.
Although American businessman Malcolm McLean is often credited with inventing the standardized shipping container in 1956, the US military had already been using a standard shipping box in the Korean War that they called a Container Express box or Conex.
Today the US military is still experimenting with new uses for the standard shipping container.
.
-------------------------
-------------------------
.
While that level of simplicity has long passed, technology has again made it possible to use elements of the commercial maritime system to quickly create functional warships. The ubiquitous shipping container, equipped with everything from cruise missiles to towed array sonars, generators, berthing, and command spaces, allows for the conversion of any container-capable commercial ship into a combatant.
These conversions do come with limitations in speed and especially the ability to sustain and recover from damage. That said, the “warship in a box” concept offers navies the ability to create combatants of different sizes and capabilities rapidly, from smaller offshore resupply ships with only a couple of containers to large “missile merchant” vessels depending on the number and types of container-based systems fitted.
-- CIMSEC, “Weaponized Containers: A Warship-in-a-Box for Warfighting Advantage”
.
-------------------------
-------------------------
.
Now, the Navy and Marine Corps are taking part in an experiment to put a drone factory inside a shipping container.
.
-------------------------
-------------------------
.
A defense technology company produced 3D-printed drones aboard a Navy ship at sea using a containerized microfactory, aiding the Navy in its pursuit of easily built autonomous technology that can quickly boost a warship’s weapons capacity.
Firestorm Labs manufactured more than 1,000 parts and 12 of its proprietary 3D-printable first-person view Squall drones aboard the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Essex as it transited toward RIMPAC 2026 in Hawaii, according to a release.
“Every part xCell printed on deck is one that doesn’t need to be flown or shipped across contested waters — cutting the fuel, aircraft hours, and personnel it takes to keep a ship operational,” a social media release said. “Repairs that once meant days or weeks waiting on a resupply run can now happen in hours, on station.”
Firestorm Labs created the xCell as a factory-in-a-box that can be deployed aboard U.S. Navy vessels to churn out unmanned aerial systems and spare parts for expeditionary warfare.
-- Navy Times
.
-------------------------
-------------------------
.
The standard shipping container has come a long way since the original military Conex boxes used in the Korean War. Even more advanced uses are still ahead. Lockheed Martin has announced it has constructed a shipping container with a laser it that can destroy incoming enemy drones.
Compass Points salutes the Marines and sailors onboard Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Essex bringing to life the new containerized drone factory.
One day perhaps Elon Musk and the US Marines will make the next leap in the military use of shipping containers. Musk could create a massive rocket with detachable shipping containers that can transport the Marines and equipment of a mini-MAGTF to a crisis anywhere around globe in minutes.
.
- - - - -
.
Hapag-Lloyd - 04/16/2025
The History of the Shipping Container: How a Metal Box Transformed Global Logistics
.
- - - - -
.
CIMSEC - 11/11/2024
Weaponized Containers: A Warship-in-a-Box for Warfighting Advantage
By Steve Wills
https://cimsec.org/weaponized-containers-a-warship-in-a-box-for-warfighting-advantage/
.
- - - - -
.
Navy Times - 08/05/2026
Firestorm Labs builds drones aboard USS Essex without shore resupply
By Riley Ceder
.
- - - - -
.
I seem to recall reading a story a few weeks back about Ukraine disguising attack drones and other weapons in shipping containers to infiltrate Russian territory and hide the systems from surveillance.
Outstanding news. This is exactly the kind of innovative, low-cost drone production capability that we will need to compete in today's rapidly evolving operational environment. The U.S. military has historically fallen into the trap of focusing too much on expensive, cutting-edge technological solutions that are slow to procure and produce. This containerized drone factory is clearly a step in the right direction.