The United States Marine Corps is rapidly adapting to modern warfare’s evolving threats, leveraging cutting-edge technologies to enhance their capabilities in drone warfare and defense.

At recent military technology conferences, Marine Corps officers have unveiled plans to incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) to manage drone sensors autonomously and have expressed an urgent desire to deploy a variety of anti-drone measures to combat the proliferation of drone technology by adversaries.

These advances come at a critical juncture as inexpensive commercial drones have become commonplace on battlefields, particularly evidenced in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

The Marine Corps has seen this as a clarion call for swift action. Captain Taylor Barefoot, a Marine Corps Counter Unmanned Aerial Systems Capabilities Integration officer, announced that Marines will soon be equipped with personal drone detectors, with systems to be fielded in the next twelve months.

In the long term, Marines may receive haptic devices that alert them to approaching enemy drones.

“We’re leveraging AI to the max extent for drone detection,” said Barefoot, highlighting the imperative need for a responsive and adaptable defense system against the rapid developments in drone technology.

Similarly, Lt. Col. Robert Barclay discussed the Corps’ intent to “litter the battlespace with sensors,” aiming to integrate a dense network of detection tools to improve situational awareness and response capabilities.

A further challenge, affecting both U.S. and Ukrainian forces, is distinguishing between friendly and hostile drones.It’s “something we haven’t quite figured out” yet, Barclay said.

Concealment is “critical,” Barclay said. “Passive air defense is a real thing, and it’s even more imperative now to move under cover.”

In terms of offense and intelligence-gathering, the Corps has its sights set on the MQ-9A Reaper drone, not as a hunter-killer platform, but as a high-tech linchpin for communications, electronic warfare, and maritime domain awareness, especially in the Indo-Pacific region.

Lt. Col. Leigh Irwin conveyed the plan to use the Reaper as a network bridge and secure communications gateway, aligning with the Pentagon’s vision for an interoperable and unified network under the Combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control initiative.

“The idea is to have sensor autonomy if we add cueing on the aircraft payloads,” Irwin elaborated.

The goal is to reduce the cognitive burden on Marines and increase operational efficiency by having AI alert operators to significant battlefield developments instead of relying on continuous manual monitoring.

Furthermore, the service has been clear about its ambitions for more capable yet affordable drones.

Officials have urged the industry to invest in developing uncrewed systems that offer Group 5 capabilities, akin to those of large, sophisticated drones, but at the price and size of smaller drones.

Relevant articles:
– The Marines want to ‘litter the battlefield’ with anti-drone sensors, Defense One
– Marines pursuing AI for sensor autonomy on multi-mission tactical drones, DefenseScoop
– Marine Corps Says It Wants Counter-Drone Capabilities ‘Yesterday’ as It Rushes to Roll Out New Systems, Military.com
– Top of Marines’ wish list: More capable drones, and ways to kill them, Breaking Defense