Deploying Marine units will be equipped with prototype systems designed to counter drones, said Lt. Gen. Eric Austin, deputy commandant for combat development and integration.
“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,” said Austin, who is also the commanding general of Marine Corps Combat Development Command.
That’s why the Marine Corps has “repurposed” some money to field the prototypes for counter-drone systems for dismounted Marines, Austin said at the Navy League Sea-Air-Space 2025 conference at National Harbor, Maryland.
“We’re excited to get that out with some of our next deploying units in order to protect them,” Austin said, adding that Marine Corps officials are looking at using both traditional weapons and other means to defeat drones.
Starting this summer, the systems will be fielded first to Marine Expeditionary Units and Marine Littoral Regiments, a Marine Corps official said.
The prototype systems will allow dismounted Marines to track, identify, and defeat small unmanned aircraft systems, said Lt. Col. Eric Flanagan, a spokesman for Combat Development and Integration.
“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,” Flanagan told Task & Purpose on Tuesday.
Citing operational security concerns, Marine Corps officials are not identifying the exact technologies being fielded, Flanagan said.
The Marines’ current ground-based air defenses, which can counter a range of threats, including manned aircraft and cruise missiles, are not always available for small-unit operations, Flanagan said. The counter-drone systems being fielded are meant to address that gap.
“This decentralization of defensive measures aligns with the Marine Corps’ emphasis on maneuver warfare and dispersed operations, ensuring that all elements of the MAGTF [Marine Air-Ground Task Force] can operate effectively in all environments,” Flanagan said.
In addition to fielding new defenses, the Marine Corps has also established an attack drone team to teach other Marines about new ways to use first-person view drones, or FPVs, based on lessons learned from the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.
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