"These are disparate systems that are not integrated into each other. I think the end goal is to have all that integrated again," Lt. Col. R.M. Barclay said, describing current wearable counter-unmanned aerial systems the Marines are fielding.
Lt. Col. R.M. Barclay on wearable cUAS being fielded now
At the Modern Day Marine expo, Lt. Col. R.M. Barclay, head of the Marine Air Command and Control System branch, told an audience and spoke to Breaking Defense that lightweight, person‑portable counter-unmanned aerial systems (cUAS) are already being issued to Marines to meet an "urgent field need." He described the deployed tools as "wearable" and primarily operated in non‑kinetic modes — handheld passive sensors or jamming — rather than hard‑kill options.
Requirement document moving up the chain, but not yet final
Barclay said a formal requirement for handheld cUAS capabilities will be released within the "next couple of months." He added that the document is currently "at the O6/O7 level," meaning it is under review by a colonel or a one‑star general. Barclay also noted that, typically, requirements of this kind must be approved by generals with at least three stars before they become official.
Integration with Integrated Missile Defense (IMD) is the stated objective
One of the central complaints Barclay voiced is that the immediate solutions now in use are not linked to one another. He framed the goal of the upcoming requirement as forcing that interoperability: the "connective tissue to IMD [integrated missile defense] really, really matters in the future," he said. The current, rapidly fielded buys, he acknowledged, "don’t do that because we had an urgent need being filled immediately."
Maj. Gen. Jason Morris on coverage shortfalls and LTAMDS limits
Maj. Gen. Jason Morris, director of operations within the Marine’s headquarter division, told the same audience the service is experiencing a "shortfall" in protecting its ground fleet from drone threats. He said complex systems such as Lower Tier Air Missile Defense Sensors (LTAMDS) are optimized for larger drones — "Groups 3-5" — and are not as effective against the smaller Group 1 and Group 2 unmanned aerial systems that threaten maneuver and logistics elements.
Morris said the service is "taking action" to field cUAS kits to lower‑level formations to address those gaps. "That is something that we are really doing in real time to the best of our ability," he said, adding the acquisition timeline for the threat environment cannot stretch out multiple years: "We’re building the plane as we’re flying it, but we can’t wait on the standard acquisitions program timeline for things to be fielded in five to seven years, because things are changing on the battlefield so much and so quickly that we’ve got to be able to adapt, to adapt faster than that — in the weeks and months timeframe."
What this means for the GCE, the LCE, and Marine acquisition leaders
- Ground Combat Element (GCE): Expect more handheld and quickly fielded cUAS kits aimed at countering Group 1 and Group 2 threats at maneuver ranges, rather than relying solely on higher‑end sensors or interceptors designed for larger drones.
- Logistics Combat Element (LCE): The stated shortfall in maneuver coverage creates pressure to deploy portable systems to protect convoys, forward logistics hubs and sustainment nodes from small UAS that existing systems do not reliably defeat.
- Marine acquisition leaders: The upcoming requirement — currently at O6/O7 — will be the instrument to force interoperability and connection to IMD; its release in the "next couple of months" will be a critical touchpoint for procurement choices and whether fielded kits must be networked rather than standalone.
The Marines have clearly moved from recognition to action: fielding wearable cUAS now to meet urgent needs, while simultaneously driving a formal requirement up the chain that aims to mandate integration and faster adaptation. The near‑term timeline — a document at the O6/O7 level expected to be released within "the next couple of months" — is the immediate milestone. Whether that document will require the interoperability to IMD that Barclay called for, and how rapidly that will translate into linked, service‑wide fielding, are the next concrete steps the service has identified it must take while "building the plane as we’re flying it."
