A Marine base in Guam “disabled” a drone flying over the set up Sunday, prompting a Naval Felony Investigative Service inquest and a warning to the general public that unmanned aerial methods are prohibited on Protection Division property, in keeping with the service.
The incident occurred at Camp Blaz, a reasonably new base that was established final 12 months in an effort to spice up the Corps’ presence within the Indo-Pacific in opposition to Chinese language affect within the area. When requested, a spokesperson for the Marine Corps wouldn’t say whether or not it was a civilian or overseas drone that was shot down, citing the continued NCIS investigation.
Earlier this month, commanders accountable for two Pacific-aligned rotational models mentioned that unmanned aerial methods, or UAS, have been a “depraved drawback” that they didn’t have belongings to fight on their very own. In a press launch the next week, the Marine Corps touted the way it was “one step nearer to defeating” UAS because it urgently works to carry the potential to Marines’ fingers.
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“On Jan. 14, a drone flying over Marine Corps Base Camp Blaz was disabled,” Maj. Diann Rosenfeld, a spokesperson for the bottom, advised Navy.com on Monday. “NCIS is investigating the incident. As a public reminder, drone exercise over Guam DoD property is prohibited.”
When pressed for particulars, Rosenfeld declined to specify how the drone was disabled, whether or not it was an incident originating from a civilian-operated drone, or if the incident was associated to nationwide safety.
“Because of the ongoing NCIS investigation, I am unable to supply extra context,” Rosenfeld mentioned.
In the meantime, the Corps mentioned that in December it had efficiently examined the Marine Air Protection Built-in System, or MADIS, a short-range anti-drone system that may be mounted on two tactical autos. On a number of events, leaders emphasised the pressing want for counter-UAS capabilities, to incorporate the MADIS.
“The significance of countering UAS threats can’t be overstated,” Col. Andrew Konicki, program supervisor for the Corps’ Floor Primarily based Air Protection program, mentioned in a press launch Friday. “We see it everywhere in the information. MADIS is the important thing. We’re excited to get this out to Marines.”
The check included “hitting a number of launched drones” throughout a live-fire check in Yuma, Arizona, in keeping with the press launch. The MADIS system tracked and hit a number of drones utilizing Stinger missiles and a 30mm cannon, a extra strong anti-drone weapon than a dronebuster, a handheld “gun” that makes use of radio frequencies to jam UAS.
“MADIS can full your complete kill chain, and we witness[ed] that in this occasion,” Konicki mentioned. “It’s a linchpin for mission success and our skill to neutralize airborne threats … which in flip, will increase our lethality.”
The discharge mentioned that the third Littoral Anti-Air Battalion, which is situated at Marine Corps Base Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, will obtain the primary batch of MADIS after testing continues all through the subsequent 12 months. The anti-air battalion, which was activated in 2022, gives “important assist and safety” for Marines within the Pacific, in accordance to the service.
Whereas it’s unclear what methodology was used to zap the drone over Camp Blaz, the Marine Corps will roll out the Set up Counter Unmanned Plane Methods, or I-CUAS, this 12 months to defend American belongings and installations within the U.S. and its territories.
For some models, it seems counter-drone capabilities can’t come quickly sufficient. In a reporter roundtable with representatives from Marine Rotational Forces Darwin and South East Asia earlier this month, commanders for these models expressed a necessity for the instruments.
Unmanned plane methods are “a depraved drawback that everybody’s working onerous to return to grips with,” Col. Brendan Sullivan, the commanding officer of Marine Rotational Drive-Darwin, or MRF-D, advised reporters.
Sullivan, together with Col. Thomas Siverts, the commanding officer of the newly shaped Marine Rotational Drive-South East Asia, or MRF-SEA, mentioned that, whereas they didn’t encounter any overseas UAS on their most up-to-date rotations, they didn’t have counter-drone capabilities natural to their models and needed to depend on Pacific companions for the duty.
As a substitute, the models managed their “signatures,” which means they decreased their threat of detection by enemy drones which may accumulate data on their place and belongings.
“We have taken a number of disparate business off-the-shelf and authorities off-the-shelf applied sciences and put them collectively,” Konicki, this system supervisor, mentioned within the press launch concerning the MADIS testing. “It is a functionality the Marine Corps has by no means had, and it was a problem for the acquisition neighborhood. This check occasion exhibits we met that problem.”
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