A Marine Corps official this week said the service is looking to field two new mobile air defense systems by next year as an example of how quickly it is developing systems to counter enemy Unmanned Aerial System (UAS).
“I somewhat like to brag about how quickly we’ve developed our counter-UAS capabilities. So five years ago, the Marine Corps really just had Stinger, that was it. Now, we’re on the cusp of deploying a whole suite of systems to counter-UAS in a way that can be rapidly upgraded, to accommodate the new threats,” Steve Bowdren, program executive officer for land systems at the Marine Corps, told reporters during the Modern Day Marine conference in Washington on April 30.
Bowdren said the Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) is set to go through the Initial Operational Test and Evaluation process “here in the next couple of months. And then that looks like a fielding early next fiscal year.”
In January, the service conducted the first live-fire test of a production-model MADIS Inc. 1 against drone targets (Defense Daily, Jan, 18).
MADIS Inc. 1 is in low-rate initial production and seeks to field a capability that allows Low Altitude Air Defense Battalions to defeat both UAS and fixed wing/rotary wing aircraft.
MADIS consists of a set of systems mounted on a pair of Joint Light Tactical Vehicles, including one with a turret-launched and shoulder-fired Stinger missile while a second vehicle detects targets with a multi-functional electronic warfare capability, 360-degree radar, command and control communications suite, and EO/IR optic system.
Its sibling system, Light (L)-MADIS, is being added to the service as part of a joint urgent needs program and it is building a program of record for it “that we’re going to be going into testing this year on that. And looking for a fielding next year.”
The L-MADIS uses electronic weapons rather than kinetic weapons with two two-seat Polaris MRZR light vehicles. The vehicle is deployed through air transport.
In 2022, the Marine Corps noted L-MADIS includes a CM262U optic as system eyes; the RPS-42 radar and Skyview MP covering 360-degree air surveillance and long-range drone detection; the Modi II dismountable electronic-warfare system to disrupt enemy drones and communications; and the AN/PRC-158 multi-channel manpack radio system for communications.
Bowdren said beyond the MADIS systems, the Marine Corps has developed the Medium Range Intercept Capability that can target UAS up to group three and up to counter-cruise missile capabilities.
Group three UAS includes those that operate at medium altitudes with medium to long range and endurance, which can include explosive loitering munition drones.
“So that is going to be operationally assessed this year and looking forward to a potential deployment within a year from now.”
He added the service is also developing the installation counter-UAS, with the Marine Corps building a program of record to deploy this system “within the next year, if we get all the bids straightened out and award a contract on time.”
Bowdren said these counter-UAS systems will be very software dependent.
“Yes, they have different kinds of vectors and different sensors and all things, but we are on the baseline on most of the stuff, and we have Naval Warfare Centers helping build it.”