DARPA demonstrator system of a medium-altitude, long-endurance unmanned air system (UAS). DAPRA Image
FREDERICKSBURG, Va. – The Marine Corps and Navy are preparing for a high-end fight that will require ships to be distributed across the ocean rather than clustered around an aircraft carrier, and the Marines’ future Group 5 unmanned aerial system will give them the airborne early warning capability to break free from the carrier and its E-2D Advanced Hawkeye early warning aircraft. Read More
Marines with Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 367 takes off from Twentynine Palms, Calif. on June 1, 2018. US Marine Corps Photo
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Marine Corps wants to focus its continental U.S.-based forces training for a high-end large-scale war, in case a conflict on the Korean Peninsula or elsewhere requires a massive surge force. Read More
Sailors aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG-81) on April 6, 2018. US Navy Photo
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. – The Navy is emphasizing the development of technologies that can rapidly increase the capability of today’s force, but they are finding this drive for innovation must also come with enough structure to keep high-risk and high-reward programs on track.
A vehicle commander with 3rd Platoon, Bravo Company, 4th Light Armor Reconnaissance Regiment uses binoculars to observe targets for a TOW missile launcher in 2017. US Marine Corps Photo
SAN DIEGO, Calif — The Marine Corps is finally ready to pursue a Light Armored Vehicle replacement after a couple years of not seeing the right next-generation ideas. Read More
The Office of Naval Research and DARPA are collaborating on the Tern project to give forward-deployed small ships the ability to serve as mobile launch and recovery sites for medium-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aerial systems that would provide ISR and other capabilities. DARPA rendering.
SAN DIEGO – The Marine Corps is reconsidering the requirements for its large amphibious ship-based unmanned aerial system (UAS), after early industry input showed the service was headed towards something too large and too expensive, the deputy commandant for combat development and integration told reporters today. Read More
Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Oscar Austin (DDG-79) transits the Arctic Circle on Sept. 5, 2017. US Navy Photo
ARLINGTON, Va. — The post-Cold War mentality of unrivaled military superiority must adjust to today’s reality — rivals and enemies are racing to match the U.S. capabilities around the globe, discussed a panel of Navy and Marine Corps experts Wednesday at the 2017 Defense News Conference. Read More
A unmanned aerial vehicle launches from a Multi-Utility Tactical Transport (MUTT) vehicle after exiting an Autonomous AAV during the Ship-to-Shore Maneuver Exploration and Experimentation (S2ME2) Advanced Naval Technology Exercise (ANTX) 2017 at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., on April 25.US Marine Corps photo.
The Marine Corps is making a new push for experimentation and rapid acquisition funding in its 2018 budget request, with the recently completed Advanced Naval Technology Exercise (ANTX) under the Ship to Shore Maneuver Exploration and Experimentation (S2ME2) effort serving as an example of how the Marines would hope to spend this flexible funding line. Read More
U.S. Marine Forces Europe and Africa deputy director of communication Master Sgt. Chad E. McMeen uses a commercial-grade Quadcopter to capture aerial video footage of the USNS William R. Button on the pier in Rota, Spain, during the preparation phase of Trident Juncture 2015.US Army photo.
ARLINGTON, Va. — The Marine Corps recently launched three major innovation efforts that are already informing the service’s unmanned systems’ priorities, the deputy commandant for combat development and integration said today. Read More
Marines with Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, prepare to raid a simulated enemy position during the Marine Air-Ground Task Force Integrated Experiment (MIX-16) at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif., Aug. 5, 2016. US Marine Corps photo.
MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va. – The Marine Corps has not evolved its ship-to-shore maneuver tactics nearly as much as it has its air and ground operations to keep up with threats and technology development, and the service hopes to change that through an innovative rapid prototyping effort to quickly hash through potential game-changing technologies. Read More
2003 Artist’s concept of the San Antonio Class amphibious transport dock ships firing a missile from a vertical launch system in the ship’s bow. US Navy Image
PORTSMOUTH, Va. — The Navy and the Marine Corps are studying installing a vertical launch system in its San Antonio class of amphibious warships that would allow the ships to field larger offensive missiles, service officials told USNI News this week. Read More
