Compass Points - Live Fire MME
US Marines in Balikatan 2026
Compass Points - Live Fire MME
US Marines in Balikatan 2026
May 6. 2026
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US Marines are participating in Balikatan 2026, a large multi-nation annual exercise in and around the Philippines.
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Members of Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 7 and Task Force Ashland, composed of Whidbey Island-class amphibious dock landing ship USS Ashland (LSD 48) and embarked Marines from the I Marine Expeditionary Force, completed the Multilateral Maritime Event portion of Exercise Balikatan 2026, May 1.
At sea, DESRON 7 staff members embarked aboard Ashland to serve as the MME Task Group for maritime forces, including Australia, Japan, and Canada. The successful completion of the MME builds upon regular high-end Maritime Cooperative Activities, expanding multilateral cooperation and reinforcing our shared commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.
The MME featured training in live-fire gunnery, anti-submarine warfare, search and rescue, medical evacuation, replenishments-at-sea, as well as deck landing qualifications for rotary-wing aircraft to enhance interoperability and operational readiness among participating forces.
“Each year, Balikatan evolves with the growing demands of the maritime environment,” said Capt. John Baggett, commodore, DESRON 7. “This year was no different. The strength of our partnerships throughout the region was on full display as 11 ships, 8 aircraft and several thousand Sailors, Marines and Coastguardsmen from around the Pacific stood shoulder-to-shoulder, increasing our lethality, expanding our interoperability and working together to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific region.”
-- SeaWaves
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Also in Balikatan 2026, US Marines from the 3rd MLR have transported NMESIS launchers to the exercise.
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Around 1,300 Marines and Sailors from the Hawaii-based 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment are in the Southeast Asian archipelago for Washington and Manila’s largest annual military drills. The regiment, designed to provide maritime sensing and anti-ship capabilities in littoral environments to joint and allied forces, routinely deploys to the Philippines for drills with local forces. While this is not the first time American forces have deployed the Naval Strike Missile-equipped Navy-Marine Corps Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) to the Philippines, their presence comes during an increased U.S.-Philippine alliance focus on the Luzon Strait amid concerns over a Taiwan contingency spillover.
According to media released by the Marines, the unit and its launchers have been staged at the Cagayan North International Airport, also known as Lal-lo Airport, one of nine sites throughout the Philippines that American forces can use under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement. From this Northern Luzon airfield, the dual missile-equipped unmanned launchers could strike targets up to 185 kilometers into waters separating the Philippines and Taiwan. As one of the primary passages in and out of the first island chain, Philippine military and political leadership have highlighted its strategic value.
-- Naval News
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There is a key phrase missing from the report of the US Marine NMESIS launchers in Balikatan 2026, compared to the report of the US Marines from I MEF participating in the Multilateral Maritime Event portion of Exercise Balikatan 2026.
The MME included training in live-fire gunnery. The report of the Marine NMESIS launchers in Balikatan did not include anything about live-fire gunnery.
When will the NMESIS complete a simple firing demonstration? Set up and strike a sea target. Displace all the Marines, gear, and equipment to a new island. Strike a sea target again. Then, displace everything again and strike a sea target again. In other words, conduct a live-fire exercise.
The lack of routine NMESIS live-fire exercises is not the only issue with the system. Several reports indicate the issues with NMESIS are many, including:
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-- The current launcher design is fixed; it cannot rotate and must be physically steered in the direction of the target before firing.
-- “Block 0” versions of the system, cannot transmit targeting data digitally from external sensors directly into the launcher’s computer. Instead, a Marine must sit between two different screens or systems—literally “swiveling” their chair—to read coordinates from a sensor screen and manually type them into the missile’s firing console.
-- Existing Marine artillery systems, like the Advanced Field Artillery Tactical Data System were not originally designed to track multiple moving targets at sea or handle complex cruise missile flight plans. Integrating NMESIS into the broader joint force digital communication loop is essential has proven technically challenging.
-- NMESIS cannot “see” over the horizon on its own. It is entirely dependent on external sensors to provide real-time targeting data. If these communication links are jammed or the external sensors are destroyed, a NMESIS unit cannot engage moving targets.
-- The NMSIS’s Naval Strike Missile has a range of only 115 miles. This is insufficient to reach the Taiwan Strait except from the northern most Philippine islands to be effective against a mainland invasion fleet. So much for its supposed utility along the First Island Chain.
-- The Corps has had considerable difficulties with the NMESIS “leader-follower” navigation system as well as a newer self-driving system whose sensors struggle to differentiate between obstacles like a solid wall and passable terrain like tall grass or shifting dust, which can cause the vehicle to stall or navigate incorrectly.
-- The CSIS think tanks wargames indicated that resupplying these units with fresh missiles during an active conflict would be nearly impossible.
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It is time for the NMESIS system to prove it or lose it. The Marine Corps has an alternative. The Marine Corps’ HIMARS missile system has a long history of reliable live fire performance and is being upgraded with advanced missiles.
The annual Balikatan exercise in and around the Philippines comes from a local word that means, “shoulder to shoulder.” If the the US and Philippines are ever shoulder to shoulder fighting China in the Pacific, the Philippines will want the US to bring a missile system that has proven itself again and again in routine live-fire drills.
Compass Points salutes all the US Marines, and all US and allied service members in Balikatan 2026.
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SeaWaves - 05/05/2026
Balikatan 2026 Multinational Maritime Event
By SeaWaves Magazine
https://seawaves.com/balikatan-2026-multinational-maritime-event/
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Naval News - 25/04/2026
U.S. Anti-Ship Missiles in the Philippines for Balikatan 2026
By Aaron-Matthew Lariosa
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The USMC public affairs offices routinely misleads by omission leading many to believe this is an operational and capable system. If it were a TV commercial the company would face law suits. This has been a routine violation of integrity for 6 years. The result is a complete lack of trust in the Corps’ senior leadership. That lack of trust undermines more than just FD-2030. It strikes right at the heart of the credibility of the institution.
The Corps needs to come clean: “This is what we can do. This is what we currently cannot do. This is when we expect to be have a fully functional capability.” Claiming capabilities you do not yet have would get your resume sent to the trash. Sadly, the Corps developed a bad habit of this with the Osprey, ACV and F/A 35. Yet, those looked like sterling integrity compared to EABO deceptions.
The Acting Secretary of the Marine Corps and Navy and his Undersecretary must understand and engage in terminating the long running FRAUD known as Force Design aka Force Disaster!