On September 22, Iceland learned in horror of the arrest of four men suspected of wanting to attack state institutions. In the searched arsenal, semi-automatic weapons printed in three dimensions.
A few days apart in Spain, the Guardia Civil, spurred by a suspicious transaction in explosives precursors via an online trading platform, discovered the clandestine factory of a fifty-year-old in Bermeo, in the Basque Country.
Among other things, she seized two latest-generation 3D printers, gun frames and numerous spools of PLA plastic filaments.
Before him, she had arrested in April 2021 a man, isolated in the countryside of La Coruña (north-west), about to illegally complete the manufacture of an AR39 assault rifle.
“3D printing of weapons is not a new phenomenon”, even less that of improvised weapons, underlines Europol in an email sent to AFP, and “producing a complete weapon in 3D remains a challenge compared to weapons conventional in terms of quality”.
“Rapid developments in technology, however, may make it a greater threat in the near future,” adds the European Police Office.
– Technological advances –
It is in the United States, where the manufacture of weapons for personal use is legal, that a certain Cody Wilson is the first in 2013 to present an all-plastic weapon except for the striker, in metal: the ” Liberator”, the name of the single-shot weapons parachuted by the Allies into the countries occupied by Germany during the Second World War.
By hijacking technological progress, this crypto-anarchist intends to defend the unconditional freedom of expression and to possess a weapon, protected by the American Constitution.
His plans are shared on the net, a virtual network is woven, including in Europe. There, a man named JStark made a name for himself with his FGC-9 (for Fuck Gun control), a semi-automatic made of 80% plastic with parts and materials sold freely in hardware stores, to circumvent the bans.
At the same time, the performance of printers is progressing, their prices are falling: from 200, for the most rustic, to several tens of thousands of euros for an SLS printer, whose technology consists of sintering particles of polymer powder into a solid structure. .
All the programs needed to configure them are available on the Darknet.
According to Christian Goblas, ballistics expert at the University of Rouen, “metallic 3D” printing will become affordable in the next ten years, allowing the production of weapon parts resistant to manipulation and kinematic operation.
– “Fantasy”? –
For the time being, “a weapon made entirely of plastic that would not sound at the gates is fantasy,” he said. Not to mention its ammunition.
The carcass or the handles can be printed, but “at this stage, we have not seen the very precise parts which must be resistant”, such as the barrel or the trigger, “being modeled in 3D”, abounds William Hippert, chief of the information, intelligence and strategic analysis service on organized crime in France.
According to him, there is no structured disposal channel for this type of weapon.
In France, those that are found generally come from abroad, with items ordered on the internet from suppliers based abroad, mainly in North America.
Who therefore devotes himself to a time-consuming, possibly dangerous and more expensive production than the purchase of conventional weapons on the black market (between 500 and 1,500 euros for a Kalashnikov in France)?
“It’s a global phenomenon but it remains emerging. It encompasses very varied profiles, with a very broad ideological spectrum”, summarizes Rajan Basra, researcher at the international center for the study of radicalization at King’s College London.
Most are motivated collectors or “ideologues”, “survivalists” or eager to compete with the authorities.
– Option plus viable –
When Hong Kong police seized 3D-made weapons attributed to pro-democracy opponents last September, or when rebels in Myanmar posed on social media with FGC-9s, it was according to Mr. Basra the very embodiment of the initial libertarian concept.
To a lesser extent, extremists see printed weapons as an increasingly viable option, particularly in jurisdictions such as Europe or Canada where the acquisition of firearms is illegal or subject to a permit. him other academics interviewed.
This is the method chosen in particular in 2019 by the shooter from Halle, Germany, during his attack on a synagogue and a Turkish restaurant which killed two people.
Eleven of the last twelve seizures in Europe involve far-right activists, notes Rajan Basra.
However, 3D printing is “unlikely to be the future of terrorism: deadlier and easier options are available and it is only one of many possible innovative tactics, besides drones or chemical and biological weapons. “, notes Jacob Ware, researcher in counter-terrorism at the Council on Foreign Relations.
It is therefore necessary to adapt the legislation “before it is too late”, he continues. And go beyond what, for example, the United States has done by requiring since the end of August federally licensed firearms dealers and gunsmiths to include a serial number for weapons printed in 3D.
