Defense Distributed was founded as the first private defense contractor in service of the general public. Beginning with 2012’s Wiki Weapon project, DD has advanced the state of the art in small scale, digital, personal gunsmithing technology ever since.

Since 2013, DD has protected its technical advancements on First and Second amendment grounds in the federal courts. Our most famous victory is a settlement with the US State Department over ITAR classifications of small arms technical data. We continue the fight today, learn our latest legal news through LEGIO.

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In 2012 Cody Wilson recruited a team to develop the first entirely 3D printed pistol, eventually named The Liberator. Modeling the development and release of the pistol’s code on Wikileaks’ efforts, Wilson directed a new, free speech approach to undermining the ideological forces of American gun control. The Wiki Weapon Project is the philosophical and practical cornerstone of all Defense Distributed efforts.

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Launched in 2012 to support the development of printable guns like Liberator, DEFCAD is a comprehensive firearms reference model repository for the digital gunsmith. After serving millions of downloads in 2013, DEFCAD was shuttered at the order of the US Department of State, and for five years Defense Distributed fought this legal contrivance in the courts.

After reaching a settlement in 2018, DEFCAD was live for five days before a band of blue states found a federal judge who was willing to order the site down again. State legislatures and liberal congressmen are currently at work to keep it that way. DEFCAD is down until further notice, and you can find updates on our continuing litigation at LEGIO.

Launched in 2014, Ghost Gunner is a fully programmable, desktop CNC designed with the independent and private manufacture of personal firearms in mind. With official support for AR-15, AR-308, 1911, and Polymer80 frames, Ghost Gunner is an open platform suitable for a growing range of after-market and community-driven operations, like engraving and skeletonization. Ghost Gunner has become the practical, hardware-focused division of our philosophical, software-based efforts.

Our Legionnaires. The army of Defense Distributed supporters who don’t just defend the Second Amendment, but add to its technical development and expansion. No other Second Amendment group allows you to go on offense.