TYR Tactical

Archive for the ‘USMC’ Category

MARCORSYSCOM Leaders Chart Future of Marine Readiness at Future Soldier Technology USA conference

Monday, June 30th, 2025

ARLINGTON, Va. — As the character of warfare shifts and threats evolve, so does the demand for new approaches to equipping the dismounted warfighter.

At this year’s Future Soldier Technology USA conference, hosted by SAE Media Group, defense leaders from across the globe gathered to discuss what it takes to make the dismounted Soldier and Marine faster, more lethal, more resilient, and better protected—all while preparing for a future fight that may look very different from the last.

For Marine Corps Systems Command (MARCORSYSCOM), their panels emphasized readiness through relevance. At the event, several leaders from the organization highlighted efforts to modernize gear, training, and acquisition with urgency and precision.

“We’re focused on staying relevant within the battlespace,” said John Mithun, program manager for Tactical Communications and Electromagnetic Warfare. “It’s about getting tomorrow’s technology into the hands of Marines today.”

Lt. Col. Patrick Heiny, product manager for Infantry Weapons, addressed future proofing through open systems.

“We went by the old adage that ‘we own the night,’ when in reality we probably rented it,” he said. “Especially in today’s tech environment, having that future proofing and being able to adapt to threats is absolutely crucial. Modern systems demand interconnected systems.”

Christopher Woodburn, deputy for Maneuver Branch, underscored modularity as a cornerstone of adaptability.

“In terms of going from renting the night to owning the night… having a helmet that provides improved modularity is key,” he said.

During a multinational panel, discussion focused on reducing burdens for the dismounted warfighter while maintaining operational advantage.

Col. Marcus Reynolds, program manager for Training Systems, offered a clear challenge. “You can’t take it all. Ships only fit so much; Marines can only carry so much… How do you reduce the weight of a system and keep Marines lethal?”

He added, “My number one job in the Marine Corps is to make Marines more lethal.”

Lt. Col. Ian Wilson, British Army, addressed the risks of overloading the individual warfighter.

“Before you know it, you’re carrying your body weight on your back, and you take enemy contact and you’re really slow,” he said. His proposed approach: “Just enough, just in time.”

The culminating event for the conference involved a Gruntworks facility walk through at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., which included a behind-the-scenes look for registered attendees at how the Marine Corps and U.S. Army evaluates and enhances their equipment.

The tour, co-hosted by the Corps’ Marine Expeditionary Rifle Squad and Human Systems Integration team, and the U.S. Army’s Soldier Integration Facility team with Program Executive Office Soldier, provided valuable insight into future capability needs.

“You got to get the right crew for the right task,” said Mark Richter, team lead for Gruntworks. “You got to think outside the box. How do we get the data that makes the difference? You must have the data before you put it into a model. If not, it’s just an assumption.”

Richter also discussed how MARCORSYSCOM’s presence underscored a central theme: innovation must be practical, scalable, and rooted in the needs of the individual warfighter.

With open systems, accelerated acquisition, and data-backed design, the Marine Corps continues to build a force ready for whatever fight comes next.

Story by Joel Rivera Camacho 

Photo by Kristofer Hutsell

Marine Corps Systems Command

Space Force Supports III MEF with Tactical Space Integration

Thursday, June 19th, 2025

OKINAWA, Japan — U.S. Space Force Maj. Ben Pearce and Capt. Hannah Garcia-Park, both with Mission Delta-11 (Space Ranges, Aggressors, Tactics and Exercises), conducted tactical level space operations for the first time in history June 9, 2025, at III Marine Expeditionary Force (III MEF), Okinawa, Japan.

The Guardians injected critical tactical subject matter expertise directly supporting III MEF’s mission, while also delivering realistic and challenging space aggressor training enhancing the lethality and combat power of the entire joint force.

U.S. Space Force Maj. Ben Pearce, left, and Capt. Hannah Garcia-Park, right, with Space Training and Readiness Command, Mission Delta-11, pose for a photo with U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Gen Roger B. Turner, left-center, commanding general, III Marine Expeditionary Force, and Sgt Maj. Christopher J. Adams, right-center, sergeant major of III MEF, on Camp Courtney, Okinawa, Japan, June 10, 2025. Pearce and Garcia-Park received challenge coins for their efforts during training with III MEF. The Guardians provided subject-matter expertise directly supporting III MEF training. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Alexander Canal)

“Incorporating Guardians into our formation provides an increase in combat effectiveness,” said Col Brian Greene, operations officer for III MEF. “Their ability to seamlessly integrate space-based assets directly into the battlespace, increasing our lethality, provides III MEF and our partners with a decisive tactical advantage.”

“My experience with III MEF as a Guardian showed me how space is integrated tactically, reinforcing our mission’s importance,” said Park. “Commitment as a Guardian means we ask questions, gain insights, and seek ways to enhance support for the joint warfighter while defending our space domain.”

Mission Delta-11 is a subordinate unit of Space Training and Readiness Command (STARCOM) and delivers realistic, threat-informed test and training environments through the provision of live, virtual, and constructive range and combat replication capability in order to prepare USSF, joint, and allied forces to prevail in a Contested, Degraded, and Operationally Limited environment.

From III Marine Expeditionary Force

USMC Affirms Confidence in Modular Handgun System

Monday, June 2nd, 2025

Back in April a reader posted a link to this 2023 USMC incident report regarding a negligent discharge of an M18 Modular Handgun System pistol by a foreign national gate guard on Okinawa, to the comments section of SSD. I read it and wondered why I hadn’t heard about it. Current hysteria over the P320 aside, Modular Handgun System pistols are equipped with a manual safety. If one did indeed discharge all by itself while “safe and secure in the holster”, as alleged in this indecent report, there are significant concerns over the safety of our service members regarding the over 400,000 pistols in service.

You can download the report here.

As you can imagine, the report began to circulate as confirmation bias that the M18 pistol which is based on SIG SAUER’s popular P320, is doing this or that. Unfortunately, getting to the bottom of the issue takes awhile, particularly with a vigorous travel schedule and when going back and forth with the government. Despite this, I dug in.

Considering the pistol has a manual safety and was in a holster and claims that nothing impacting the trigger, something seemed off. I asked around about the report and heard that there was more to the story and it would be best if I made a formal inquiry. Consequently, I approached the DoD Program office for MHS, Product Manager Soldier Weapons (PdM SW), which is subordinate to Project Manager Soldier Lethality at Picatinny Arsenal. They stepped right up and looked into the issue as they weren’t familiar with the mishap despite the conclusion of the incident report which was to “recommend that an engineering review of the M18 be conducted.”

I asked for a statement from PdM SW but they informed me that, as the incident had occurred in the Marine Corps, I should pursue further inquiries with Marine Corps Installation Command Pacific. I sent them an email inquiry and finally heard back after this story was published. They offered a simple statement, standing by the report.

Next, I went to Marine Corps Systems Command. Their PAO interfaced with the command and offered this statement based on my initial inquiry regarding the incident report.

The incident was appropriately reported to the Naval Safety Command, which is where the provided pdf of the incident report was sourced from in response to a FOIA request. All factual information was released in accordance with FOIA. Deliberative portions of the safety investigations are subject to executive privilege, and they will not be released to any person or entity, except within the Department of Defense, for mishap and loss prevention purposes.

I had obviously asked the wrong command, the wrong question. They didn’t investigate it. Since my main concern was whether the weapon was safe for use, that’s what I ended up asking.

Late last week, the Marine Corps Systems Command Public Affairs Office provided this statement on behalf of the command:

The M18 was rigorously tested to DoD standards before being selected for use by our Marines, and we have not seen any evidence that indicates design or manufacturing issues are present. In addition to the initial testing, each lot of weapons produced for the U.S. Government is subject to extensive lot acceptance testing with oversight by the Defense Contract Management Agency and the Service from which the order was placed (Army/Marine Corps).

The Marine Corps has full confidence in the quality, performance, and safety of the M18 handgun. The MHS is designed, built, and tested to military standards to ensure safe and effective employment during training and combat.

At least one other website reported this incident and only used the incident report as the basis of their post. They never bothered to contact the military. While we may never know what actually happened in this instance, the reality is that the Marine Corps (and Army) stand behind the safety of the MHS program. Here we are, over two years later and the pistols remain in service.

That is the ultimate concern, that service members can maintain faith and confidence in their equipment, particularly those items that they must depend their lives on, such as PPE and weapons. It was my goal to determine whether or not this was the case and the Army and Marine Corps have asserted their position that MHS is safe.

By Eric Graves

GA Integrates Software for USMC Common Intelligence Picture WTI Course

Tuesday, May 20th, 2025

SAN DIEGO – 19 May 2025 – General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) has successfully integrated the advanced Optix software—developed by General Atomics Integrated Intelligence, Inc. (GA-i3)—into the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) Common Intelligence Picture (CIP) for a multi-service Weapons and Tactics Instructor (WTI) course.

This milestone marks a significant enhancement in the USMC’s Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities, delivering a unified operational view critical to the training of future aviation leaders. For the USMC, this integration directly supports the deployment and effectiveness of the GA-ASI-supplied MQ-9A Medium-Altitude, Long-Endurance (MALE) Unmanned Aircraft System within the Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF).

Achieved through close collaboration with Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron One (MAWTS-1) and Marine Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron One (VMX-1), the integration brought together engineers from GA-ASI and GA-i3 alongside USMC unmanned aviation operations experts. Their combined efforts enabled the seamless deployment of the Optix software during the rigorous WTI 2-25 training cycle.

USMC MQ-9A operations during the exercise took place at Yuma, Arizona, and the Strategic Expeditionary Landing Field (SELF) at Twenty-Nine Palms, California—the Marine Corps’ only expeditionary runway in the U.S. The live-fire training environment provided an invaluable opportunity to evaluate the MQ-9A’s role in complex combat scenarios.

By introducing Optix into this high-demand setting, Marines gained access to real-time data fusion, a shared operational picture, and enhanced collaborative decision-making—tools critical for modern battlefield success.

“The integration of Optix software represents a key step toward the effective deployment of the MQ-9A MUX MALE platform within the MAGTF and joint operations,” said Doug Brouwer, Senior Director for USMC Programs at GA-ASI. “It enables near real-time situational awareness and improves the decision-making process across the battlespace.”

Andrew Majchrowicz, Project Manager for Department of Defense Programs at GA-i3, added: “Equipping Marines with advanced ISR tools like Optix enhances the common intelligence picture and operational readiness in live-fire environments. This is a critical milestone in our shared goal of enabling joint-force effectiveness and full operational integration of the MQ-9A.”

The successful deployment of Optix within the WTI course underscores General Atomics’ continued commitment to delivering cutting-edge solutions that empower the U.S. military with unmatched intelligence and operational capabilities for future multi-domain operations.

Mack Defense Wins Prototype Phase of Medium Tactical Truck (MTT) Development for U.S. Marine Corps

Tuesday, May 20th, 2025

ALLENTOWN, PA (May 19, 2025) – Following the initial development contract awarded last year, Mack Defense today announced they won the contract to produce two prototype vehicles for the next phase in the Medium Tactical Truck (MTT) program with the U.S. Marine Corps. The new family of vehicles will replace the Marine Corps’ Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacement fleet (MTVR), which includes cargo, dump, wrecker, tractor and re-supply trucks supporting air-ground task force combat support missions.

The Marine Corps’ initial development requirements for the MTT fleet focused on cargo variants consisting of 10-, 15- and 20-foot cargo bed configurations with hybrid-electric technology for reduced fuel consumption, extended range and reduced noise for silent watch capabilities. A 70% off-road and 30% on-road mission profile will be supported by a 60-inch fording capability to traverse through deep water typically encountered during Marine Corps missions.

The prototype phase includes the development of two variants: a 4×4 configuration featuring a 10-foot cargo bed and a 6×6 configuration with a 20-foot cargo bed. The trucks share DNA with the Mack® Granite® but are specially designed to meet the specific requirements of the U.S. Marine Corps. The MTT prototypes incorporate significant technological advancements in driver safety and operational capability. These include advanced driver assistance features such as collision avoidance, blind-spot detection and vehicle dynamic control systems incorporating enhanced traction control and anti-lock brakes. The vehicles also feature hybrid-electric technology delivering improved fuel efficiency while enabling critical tactical advantages such as silent watch capabilities using extensive onboard power storage and generation and exportable power for other military systems.

“These prototypes represent the next generation of purpose-built, specialty vehicles for the Marine Corps,” said David Hartzell, president of Mack Defense. “By leveraging our commercial vehicle technology expertise and adapting it for military applications, we’re delivering a highly capable platform that can perform in the most challenging terrains, while incorporating advanced safety features and hybrid propulsion systems that meet the Marine Corps’ rigorous mission requirements.”

The MTT program emphasizes enhanced off-road mobility with vehicles designed for cross-country operation while maintaining optimal weight for improved fuel efficiency and payload capacity. The purpose-built design incorporates an open systems architecture that enables future autonomous capabilities and technology integration.

Construction of the prototypes will begin in the second half of 2025, with completion targeted for early fall. Following assembly, the vehicles will undergo comprehensive contractor performance testing at the Nevada Automotive Test Center (NATC) in the first half of 2026 before delivery to the Marine Corps.

Following the initial development contract awarded last year, Mack Defense today announced the production of two prototype vehicles for the next phase in the Medium Tactical Truck (MTT) program with the U.S. Marine Corps.

Mack Defense, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mack Trucks, is responsible for the sale of heavy-duty trucks to federal- and ministerial-level customers globally. For more information, please visit www.mackdefense.com.

Elbit America’s Night Vision Goggles Provide Marines Precision, Accuracy, Confidence

Friday, May 16th, 2025

Squad Binocular Night Vision Goggle systems will support USMC missions in low-light and no-light conditions world-wide

FORT WORTH, TEXAS – May 14, 2025 –Elbit Systems of America (Elbit America) recently received a delivery order valued at $112 million for Squad Binocular Night Vision Goggle (SBNVG) systems from the Marine Corps Systems Command. The SBNVG systems will be produced at the company’s facility in Roanoke, Virginia through December 2026. The delivery order was placed under a multi-year Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (ID/IQ) contract secured in 2023.

Elbit America’s SBNVGs are lightweight, helmet-mounted systems that combine a binocular with high -performance white phosphor image intensification tubes and an enhanced clip-on thermal imager. The thermal capability allows Marines to detect otherwise hidden targets, even in complete darkness.

The SBNVG provides unmatched depth perception, clarity and situational awareness – whether Marines are operating vehicles, maneuvering on foot, or navigating tunnels or dark buildings. Built for extended missions, the SBNVGs deliver exceptional performance and extra-long run times, no matter the environment.

“Production of more than 20,000 Squad Binocular Night Vision Goggle systems – and  continued orders – demonstrate their impact and effectiveness for the U.S. Marine Corps,” said Erik Fox, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Warfighter Systems at Elbit America. “SBNVGs provide our Marines a decisive advantage. They can see, detect, and react more quickly than their adversaries – an edge that’s critical in today’s complex battlefield.”

“Elbit America’s Squad Binocular Night Vision Goggle system enhances the capabilities of our Marines, making them an unmatched force on the battlefield,” said Elbit America President and CEO Luke Savoie. “These advanced systems build on more than six decades of night vision innovation, enabling the U.S. Marine Corps to operate with precision, accuracy and confidence.”

More details on Elbit America’s Night Vision solutions are available at  www.elbitamerica.com/night-vision.

Photos via DoD.

USMC Scout Sniper Association Rifle Raffle

Sunday, May 4th, 2025

Mission Statement

The USMC Scout Sniper Association (SSA) is the only non-profit membership organization for Marine Scout Snipers in the world.
We exist to support the Scout Sniper community through programs that inspire brotherhood, encourage professionalism, and foster resiliency. Our community is comprised of those who have carried the long gun, those who have enabled our successes on the battlefield, and our families.
The USMC SSA also works and partners with other nonprofit Veterans Organizations to build and support the larger sniper community.

The Prize

The intrinsic value of this rifle can not be estimated.  This was hand built, in same shop, every USMC Sniper rifle was built; by the same gunsmiths who built every sniper rifle.  There are many rifles that look like this, but this is an actual brand new USMC sniper rifle.

USMC M40A5 Sniper Rifle

The M40A5 is a bolt-action sniper rifle utilized by the United States Marine Corps, building upon the legacy of the M40 series with enhancements tailored for modern combat requirements. Below is an overview of its primary components, parts, accessories, and the Standard Logistics (SL-3) kit.

Retail Value of Prize

This M40A5 Sniper Rifle prize package has an estimated value at auction of over $20,000.00.

To Enter, visit: rafflecreator.com/pages/90636/2025-m40a5-rifle-raffle

GA-ASI Delivers MQ-9A Block 5 Extended Range UAS to USMC

Wednesday, April 30th, 2025


New UAS Delivered to VMX-1

SAN DIEGO – 29 April 2025 – General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) delivered an MQ-9A Reaper® Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) to the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC). The new MQ-9A Block 5 Extended Range (ER) UAS was delivered on April 22, 2025, and will be operated by Marine Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron 1 (VMX-1), a USMC operational test squadron based at Marine Corps Air Station, Yuma, Arizona.

The new MQ-9A UAS will be used by the USMC to perform operational tests and evaluations, as well as create Marine Aviation tactics, techniques, and procedures through experimentation as the Marines fully implement MQ-9A as a critical part of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF).

“The Marine Corps is building out its ISR capabilities with this new aircraft,” said GA-ASI President David R. Alexander. “We are excited to see what VMX-1 does in terms of operational test in preparation for pushing new capabilities into the field.”

The MQ-9A ER is designed with field-retrofittable capabilities, such as wing-borne fuel pods and reinforced landing gear, that extend the aircraft’s endurance to more than 30 hours while further increasing its operational flexibility. It provides long-endurance, persistent surveillance capabilities, with Full-Motion Video and Synthetic Aperture Radar/Moving Target Indicator/Maritime Mode Radar. An extremely reliable aircraft, MQ-9A ER is equipped with a fault-tolerant flight control system and a triple-redundant avionics system architecture. It is engineered to meet and exceed manned aircraft reliability standards.

To date, GA-ASI has delivered 18 MQ-9A UAS to USMC. The USMC awaits delivery of two additional aircraft by the end of this year.