The U.S. Marine Corps plans to field new technologies to address the growing global threat of small unmanned aircraft systems. The service will evaluate dismounted counter-sUAS platforms to protect American and allied troops and maintain an operational advantage, the DOD said Wednesday.
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Marine Corps Drone Threat
Adversaries are increasingly deploying sUAS for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance or to attack targets. Aside from its low manufacturing cost, the technology is agile, easy to use and generates low radar signature.
Although small, sUAS can compromise security, destroy critical military assets, disrupt operations and even lead to loss of life.
“One of the things that is apparent to all of us is that unmanned aerial systems are a threat not just to infantry Marines, but to all Marines,” explained Lt. Gen. Eric Austin, head of the Marine Corps Combat Development Command, via Defense One.
Counter-sUAS Testing to Begin Soon
The Marine Corps did not identify which technologies for fielding, but officials shared that the prototype platforms will enable warfighters to detect, track, identify and defeat enemy drones through kinetic and non-kinetic effects.
“These systems will be lightweight, easy-to-use, easy-to-train, military occupational specialty-agnostic, and, to the maximum extent possible, use weapon systems organic to individual units,” Lt. Col. Eric Flanagan, a spokesperson for Combat Development and Integration, told Task & Purpose.
A service official also said the Marine Expeditionary Units and Marine Littoral Regiments will be first to test out the C-sUAS platforms in the coming weeks.
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