The U.S. Marine Corps’ Medium Range Intercept Capability, or MRIC, conducted a quick reaction assessment, known as a QRA, last month involving Marines from the 1st Low Altitude Air Defense Battalion.
The USMC said Monday the QRA supports the service’s initiatives to develop modern capabilities like ground-based air defenses, cruise missile defense, counter-small unmanned aircraft systems and counter-fixed wing and rotary wing to defend against rapidly emerging threats in the modern battlefield. The event marked the first time that the full kill chain was executed by the Marines using MRIC in a realistic operational setting.
During the assessment, the marines were able to set up and operate the MRIC system efficiently and managed to detect, track, assess and target cruise missiles and other targets. The next step is to analyze the data gathered from the QRA with the help of the Marine Corps Operational Test and Evaluation Activity. The data includes system logs, photos and videos of the system performing and feedback from the Marines.
The results of the analysis will determine if the program executive officer will allow the MRIC to be fielded to marine units. A prototype is expected to be deployed by the second or third quarter of fiscal year 2025 to conduct complete training with Marine Corps operators.
Matthew Beck, MRIC product manager, said, “This was an important step towards delivering the much-needed capability to the fleet and we were able to collect critical data points, both qualitative and quantitative, which will continue to enhance the system.”
