Britain's defence chiefs have no idea how many Chinese-made 3D printers it has installed to build critical weapons despite security concerns, the Daily Mail can reveal.
Experts branded Sir Keir Starmer’s administration ‘reckless’ after it was unable to say how many of the devices were being utilised in the Army, Navy and Air Force.
Nato allies warned Beijing will use such security loopholes ‘against us’ in any confrontation and called for the UK to harness ‘sovereign’ capabilities instead.
It comes days after the military admitted Britain only has enough drones for one week of war.
The Defence Secretary has ordered an investigation after it emerged whole platoons were using China’s Bambu Lab devices to build ‘suicide drones’ in the field.
Using Beijing’s printers has been compared to giving the hardline state ‘the keys to the back door of our security systems’, while the US has removed them from all military supply chains.
But in a revelation that risks further infuriating Nato allies, the Mail can reveal the Ministry of Defence does not even know how many of the devices have been installed or where they are being used.
Asked about the quantity and whereabouts of the Bambu devices, Defence Minister Luke Pollard said: ‘The MoD’s use of 3D printers forms part of its trial and experimentation efforts.
‘Consequently, details relating to 3D printing equipment is not held centrally.’
British Army on exercise in Kenya wtih a drone made by a Bambu Lab 3D printer
Defence Minister Luke Pollard failed to say how many Bambu Lab 3D printers the MOD has in use
Security expert Anthony Glees slammed the response, saying: ‘It is seriously reckless at this point in time, when China is on the march to establish itself as the dominant superpower. We should not be building these drones with Chinese kit.’
Raimond Kaljulaid, chair of Estonia’s delegation to Nato, also said: ‘Using Chinese technology in any critical capacity should be strongly discouraged in Europe.
‘It creates risks that would be very difficult to manage.
‘I can’t tell the UK what to do, but all of Europe needs to understand that this is a serious issue and alternatives need to be found.’
Bambu ‘intentionally’ sells the devices at a loss as part of a state-backed strategy that has seen Beijing seize 95 per cent of the global market share for 3D printers, it has been claimed.
Such pricing makes them attractive to stretched defence ministries, such as Britain’s.
Industry voices warned the cheap price means they are also unlikely to be audited which may explain why the MoD does not know where the devices are.
Josef Prusa, CEO of Prusa, a Czech 3D printer firm that is one of the only non-Chinese firms left in the market, said: ‘The remaining five per cent is us.
‘There is no-one else left. This is an incredibly dangerous situation.’
The MoD insisted to the Mail that Bambu 3D printers ‘are not connected to the defence network and are not used to produce any sensitive materials’.
But Mr Prusa pointed out the statement was ‘contradictory’.
‘If you do not know how many 3D printers you have, how can you be sure that they are not connected?’ he said.
Under Chinese law, Bambu must surrender encryption keys to Beijing and even install backdoors which gives the People’s Republic comprehensive access to their data.
Bambu ‘intentionally’ sells the devices at a loss as part of a state-backed strategy that has seen Beijing seize 95 per cent of the global market share for 3D printers, it has been claimed.
Christopher Burgess, a former CIA officer and national security consultant, called on Britain to follow the Nato approach and ‘build sovereign, auditable and secure’ capabilities.
He said: ‘The US has got this right. Congress banned Chinese-made 3D printers from all Department of Defense use, recognizing the clear risks under China’s National Intelligence Law.
‘These devices can be compelled under Chinese law to “phone home” with designs, logs and metadata, creating a potential backdoor.
‘The fact they’re often sold at a deliberate loss, below typical audit thresholds, only compounds the problem.
‘If the UK continues down this path, it will be adopting an unnecessary security risk.’
It is the latest sign that Sir Keir’s administration is ignoring the danger of China after it was previously forced to remove Chinese tech giant Huawei from its 5G network.
Last year the collapse of a high-profile spy trial was blamed on the government’s refusal to describe China as a threat to British national security.
An MoD spokesman said: ‘Protecting national security is the foundation of everything we do. We have strict security procedures in place to ensure all sensitive information is protected.’
Bambu Lab was contacted for comment.