The U.S. Marine Corps has conducted simultaneous training and fielding of its Organic-Counter Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems, or O-CsUAS, dismounted equipment across the service to accelerate delivery of counter-drone capability to operational units.
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USMC said Friday the effort is intended to shorten the timeline between production and operational use to a few months.
Program Manager Ground Based Air Defense, or PM GBAD, is executing the accelerated approach, with New Equipment Training currently being recorded at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia.
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What Is the O-CsUAS Capability?
The O-CsUAS dismounted equipment provides man-portable capability to detect, track and counter Groups 1 and 2 drones using kinetic and non-kinetic effects.
The service described the system as a short-range, self-defense capability designed for small units. The effectors can be integrated with the M4 rifle, enabling Marines to detect threats and receive targeting cues.
The Marine Corps said the dismounted counter-UAS kits are intended to mitigate vulnerabilities associated with the proliferation of low-cost drones while improving force protection and operational readiness.
What Did USMC Personnel Say About O-CsUAS Deployment?
Dana Rodgers, product manager for O-CsUAS within PM GBAD, said the effort reflects the urgency of delivering counter-drone tools in response to current operational threats and is designed to ensure the acquisition process remains agile in support of deployed Marines.
“The expedited fielding and concurrent release of virtual training offers Marines immediate training, and continued access to the training materials to maintain familiarity with the systems. Marines will be more lethal and better protected from sUAS the moment equipment is fielded,” Rodgers added.
Lance Cpl. Bryen Martinez with the Marine Corps Base Quantico Security Battalion said the simultaneous fielding and training approach represents a shift in how the service introduces new capabilities.
“We have entered a more advanced, modern-day war. This equipment, and the ability to continuously learn on it, will help Marines employ the system’s lethality, giving us a higher survivability rate,” he noted.
What Are the Other Marine Corps Counter-UAS Initiatives?
The USMC’s simultaneous fielding and training of O-CsUAS dismounted equipment builds on a series of recent counter-UAS initiatives aimed at accelerating force readiness.
In April 2025, the service first announced plans to field dismounted counter-sUAS capabilities across the Marine Air-Ground Task Force. The effort expanded in September, when the Marine Corps selected first-person-view unmanned aerial vehicles from four companies to advance to the next phase of the Defense Innovation Unit’s Project G.I.
Most recently, the service launched a training and certification program designed to rapidly expand the number of qualified operators for small attack drones.
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