Marine Corps aims to rapidly develop C-UAS solutions with new 'fusion center'

The Marine Corps is prioritizing the rapid development of counter-drone technologies with a new "fusion center" established within the past few months at Quantico, VA, service officials said today during the Modern Day Marine conference in Washington.

The new center will absorb the existing Rapid Capabilities Office and will look to aid promising technologies in bridging the “valley of death,” or transition from early research and development efforts into production and fielding.

“The fusion center and the fusion framework is larger than just the RCO. So, you bring in elements of the programs of record and the acquisition systems and sustainment elements,” said Brig. Gen. David Walsh, commanding general of Marine Corps Systems Command. “It's the RCO plus a lot of additional stakeholders around that, that'll enable that full, enduring capability.”

The new center’s initial focus will be developing air defense systems that can protect Marine forces from increasingly prevalent unmanned aircraft systems, Walsh said.

While the Marine Corps is rapidly advancing land-based air defense systems like its Medium Range Intercept Capability to defend ground forces from UAS, the Navy’s ongoing engagement in the Red Sea has demonstrated the need to protect surface ships from drones.

Today, Steve Bowdren, the Marine Corps’ program executive officer for land systems, said the two service branches are considering the application of Marine Corps ground-based platforms for use in shipboard defense, though he provided few details on the specific systems that might be used.

“There is collaboration between our program offices, specifically between [Ground Based Air Defense] and with the appropriate portions of PEO [Integrated Warfare Systems]. We are looking at what they're looking at from a shipboard perspective, and then seeing how that can be applied,” he told Inside Defense on the sidelines of the event.

While Bowdren declined to name specific systems, Kevin Murray, the chief technology officer for Headquarters Marine Corps, said the service is already using the Marine Air Defense Integrated System, or MADIS, for ship defense within its Marine Expeditionary Units.

“We’re already putting MADIS systems on the MEU because they’re organic to the battalions. We’re using that for our own self-preservation in partnership with the Navy,” he said.

Earlier this month, Navy officials revealed a rapid capability effort to mount two adjunct, kinetic, counter-UAS weapon systems on the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer The Sullivans (DDG-68) for testing in an upcoming June demonstration. While the officials did not name the weapon systems, they indicated they are commercially available capabilities designed for land-based operations.