Marine Corps Col. Jeremie “Hank” Hester, director of the Marine Corps Capabilities Development Directorate’s Aviation Combat Element speaks during a panel at GDIT’s Emerge: Battlespace of the Future conference in Washington, D.C., June 2, 2026. (Photo by Isaac Latimer with EPNAC)
“They have their organic weapon systems, and now we're asking them to put another 30 pounds of kit of ground control stations, all the accouterments that go…
U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Seth Clayton, a finance technician with Headquarters and Service Battalion, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, works at his computer at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, Jan. 21, 2026. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Brady V. Hathaway)
A Marine with 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, conducts reconnaissance and surveillance from an observation post during exercise Platinum Ren at Sorreisa, Norway, May 25, 2018. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Miguel A. Rosales)
While many foundations remain the same, a top Marine general said, "we shouldn’t be talking about reconnaissance without talking about robotics and sensors, and so that’s the…
A U.S. Marine Corps XQ-58A Valkyrie, highly autonomous, low-cost tactical unmanned air vehicle, conducts its second test flight with two U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning II aircraft assigned to 33rd Fighter Wing, 96th Test Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., Feb. 23, 2023. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. John McRell)
The Marine Corps is targeting 2029 to begin operational testing of its MUX TACAIR drone, while simultaneously exploring how exquisite unmanned systems can be used for other…
A VBAT unmanned aerial system takes off from the flight deck of San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship USS Portland (LPD 27) during counter-small UAS training in the Pacific Ocean, April 4, 2026. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Luke Rodriguez)
U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Richard Tofte, a rifleman with 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, observes impacts during a live fire platoon attack on range 410 Alpha as part of Service Level Training Exercise 2-26 on Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, California, April 9, 2026. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Dominic Trujillo)
While details about what the lanes will look like and which counter-UAS systems Marines will employ are scant, the announcement of upcoming training comes as the service…
U.S. Marine Corps flight equipment technicians with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 225, U.S. Marine Corps Forces, South, install a Flexible Linear Shaped Charge on a U.S. Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II canopy assigned to VMFA-225 at Jose Aponte de la Torre Airport in Ceiba, Puerto Rico, Dec. 9, 2025. (U.S. Marine Corps photo)
Screenshot from a video of U.S. Marines with Expeditionary Operations Training Group, III Marine Expeditionary Force testing Marine-Build drones off the coast of Naval Base White Beach, Okinawa, Japan, March 22, 2026. The training was part of the EOTG Unmanned Systems Branch, which seeks to teach Marines in basic drone operations, capabilities, and assembly. (U.S. Marine Corps video by Cpl. Giovanni Navarrette)
Marines with III Expeditionary Operations Training Group out of Okinawa, Japan, designed the unmanned surface vessel themselves, officials said, then blew it up with a drone.
The Textron Advanced Reconnaissance Vehicle 30 mm Cannon (ARV-30) prototype conducts open water testing at Camp Pendleton, CA earlier this year. (U.S. Marine Corps photo)
