Lt. Col. Jeffrey Carben, the commanding officer of Marine Unmanned Maintenance Squadron (MUMS) 14, Marine Aircraft Group 14, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, gives his remarks during the MUMS-14 activation ceremony at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina, June 16, 2026. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Pfc. Keani Guthmueller)
The unit will consist of roughly 300 Marines and sailors. Most of those troops are unmanned aerial vehicle technicians, mechanics and ground control station maintainers.
U.S. Soldiers assigned to the 125th Intelligence and Electronic Warfare Battalion, 25th Infantry Division, prepare and launch an unmanned surface vessel, during Exercise Balikatan 2026, in La Paz Sand Dunes, Laoag City, Philippines, Apr. 29, 2026. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Omarion Hall)
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…
A US soldier prepares an interception drone of the American MEROPS counter drone system to launch during tests at the Nowa Deba military training ground, south-eastern Poland, on November 18, 2025. (Photo by Wojtek RADWANSKI / AFP) (Photo by WOJTEK RADWANSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
A map shows the Strait of Hormuz on a laptop computer screen in this photo illustration in Athens, Greece, on March 3, 2026. (Photo by Nikolas Kokovlis/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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)
Hung Cao, then-undersecretary of the Navy, meets with Capt. John Frye, commanding officer, U.S. Naval Base Guam, Feb. 23, 2026. (U.S. Navy photo by Rey Rabara)
