Compass Points - Missiles & Drones
Stay focused on MAGTF operations
Compass Points - Missiles & Drones
Stay focused on MAGTF operations
April 17, 2024
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Precision munitions including missiles, and loitering drones, have an important role in the combat power of every US military service. The US military services must embrace the new technologies on offense and defense.
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US Navy and Air Force units played a big role over the weekend in shooting down the hundreds of Iran's missiles and drones fired at Israel. Clearly Navy ships do not need to run and hide from new precision munition technologies. Navy ships can fight the new threat and win.
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Meanwhile, in more news about precision munitions, Breaking Defense is reporting that half a world away, "Soldiers with the US Army’s 1st Multi-Domain Task Force deployed to the Philippines with a new long-range weapon." As part of Exercise Salaknib 2024, soldiers arrived with the Army's new Typhon missile launcher.
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The land-based system is designed to launch Raytheon’s existing SM-6 missiles and Tomahawk cruise missiles and hit targets between the Precision Strike Missile’s (PrSM’s) planned 500-kilometer range and the 2,776-kilometer reach of the future Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW).
-- Breaking Defense
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While the use of the Typhon launcher is significant, there are considerable limitations. An Army spokesman admitted the Typhon was only in the Philippines for the Exercise Salaknib 2024. Among US allies in the Pacific there is no permanent home for the Typhon. Even the Philippines, in weekly direct conflict with China over the islands and atolls off the Philippine coast, will not grant permission for the establishment of permanent US missile units.
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Philippine President Marcos was quoted recently,
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“The Philippines has no plans to create any more bases or give access to any more bases,” Marcos said, without elaborating in response to a question during a forum with Manila-based foreign correspondents.
-- AP News
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The US has access to 9 Philippine sites where some US units can rotate in and out for training, but no US missile units are allowed permanent bases in the Philippines.
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Where does this this leave the missile units of the Marine Littoral Regiments? Like the Army's Multi-Domain Task Forces, it leaves the missile units without a home in the Philippines.
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The Commandant's frag order 01-2024 talks about "balancing crisis response and modernization.” This could be a step forward. For example, at least since 2018 the Marine Corps has been working to put small, portable armed drones in the hands of infantry squads. Now, the Marine Corps is one step closer to upgrading and enhancing the MAGTF by acquiring armed drones for Marine Corps squads.
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The Marine Corps has selected three companies to compete for its light loitering munitions program, which seeks to equip small units with an armed drone for over-the-horizon fire missions.
AeroVironment, Anduril Industries and Teledyne FLIR will compete for the potential $249 million, five-year contract for the Organic Precision Fires-Light, according to awards notices posted April 10 on the government’s contracting website.
The light fires system is a man-packable, armed loitering drone for rifle squads and platoons. Loitering drones often have built-in warheads and strike a target by crashing into it. They are sometimes called suicide or kamikaze drones.
-- Todd South, Marine Times
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Precision munitions, including missiles and loitering drones, have an important role in the combat power of every US military service. Compass Points salutes the Navy and Air Force, for their tremendous work helping to protect Israel and salutes the Army for their Typhon system that can launch the Tomahawk Land Attack Missile. Compass Points also salutes the Marine Corps for focusing on upgrading and enhancing the MAGTF by working to put loitering drones in the hands of Marine infantry squads.
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Breaking Defense - 04/15/2024
Out of INF, Army deploys Typhon weapon to the Philippines
By Ashley Roque
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AP News - 04/15/2024
The Philippine president says he won’t give US access to more local military bases
By Aaron Favila
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Marine Times - 04/15/2024
Marines pick three companies for loitering munitions program
By Todd South
Ah, a platoon-level loitering munition. I guess that we can do away with the 60mm mortars at the company level. We can just launch a swarm of these kamikaze drones and use them to fire the FPF.
We all agree that the mission of the Marine Corps has been, and should be, that of a combined arms naval expeditionary force in readiness. With that in mind missiles and drones in the Marine Corps inventory should reflect and enhance that main mission. Expeditionary operations should drive the requirement for equipment. The "light fires system" would enhance the ability of Marine infantry forces.
For the Marine Corps, a naval strike missile system could also be an added asset. An ARG/MEU with such a capability, I believe, would be a force multiplier. Rather than a SIF sitting on an island someplace, a naval strike missile unit as part of a MEU would give that MEU a strategic capability. In this idea, the expeditionary capability still drives the main mission.