Marine Corps Establishes Robotics Integration Group, Experiments with Drones in Field Operations

U.S. Marines with 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance, 1st Marine Division, Light Attack Helicopter Squadron (HMLA) 169 and Marine Special Operations Command conduct an in-aircraft, first person view unmanned aircraft system integration with an UH-1Y Venom at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, June 16, 2026. US Marine Corps photo The U.S. Marine Corps established a new organization last month to integrate aerial drone capabilities as the service continues to experiment with drones in field operations.

The service established the Marine Corps Robotics Integration Group (MCRIG), a service-level organization responsible for integrating, standardizing and institutionalizing training for Group 1 and Group 2 small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and counter-small unmanned aircraft systems across the Total Force, according to a July MARADMIN. The Pentagon categorises unmanned aircraft systems into five progressive groups based on attributes such as maximum gross takeoff weight, operating altitude and speed.

“The establishment of MCRIG reflects the Marine Corps’ continued effort to adapt to the rapidly evolving character of warfare, where inexpensive, commercially available unmanned aircraft have fundamentally changed how modern militaries detect, target, maneuver and fight. MCRIG also establishes a deliberate process for transitioning emerging capabilities into formal Marine Corps training,” reads a news release on the establishment of the organization.

MCRIG is assigned under Marine Air Ground Task Force Training Command (MAGTFTC), Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center (MCAGCC), Twentynine Palms, Calif., and serves as the service’s focal point for unmanned systems training integration, curriculum development and education., The Marines are working to integrate emerging drone capabilities into standardized programs of instruction, instructor certifications, and training products.

As the service-level integrator, MCRIG receives validated capability packages, including tactics, techniques and procedures, pilot courses and training requirements, from specialized organizations responsible for experimentation and operational assessment and once validated., It develops the curriculum, training support packages and certification standards before distributing them through designated regional hubs that execute standardized instruction across the Fleet Marine Force.

U.S. Marines from Marine Corps Base Quantico’s Provost Marshall Office employ weapons system during a New Equipment Training (NET) exercise to demonstrate the Organic – Counter Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (O-CsUAS) capabilities PEO Land Systems is deploying directly to the fleet during a live training event on Marine Corps Base Quantico, VA. US Marine Corps photo “The battlefield continues to demonstrate that small unmanned aircraft systems are no longer niche capabilities; they are indispensable tools for reconnaissance, precision strike, force protection and survivability,” Maj. Gen. Mark Clingan, commanding general, MAGTFTC, MCAGCC, said in the release. “The Marine Corps Robotics Integration Group provides the institutional framework necessary to rapidly integrate validated capabilities into standardized training, ensuring Marines across the Total Force are prepared to employ and defeat these systems in future conflicts.”

Two complementary organizations – the Marine Corps Attack Drone Team (MCADT) and the newly established Marine Corps Counter Drone Team (MCCDT) – will be central to the integration process. MCDDT, according to the release, was established to accelerate counter-drone training development in the same way MCADT has supported and advanced attack drone capability development, experimentation, research, testing and evaluation. Both organizations provide Marine Corps Training Command a focused capability to study both employment and defeating unmanned systems.

MCCDT is an organic element of the Weapons Training Battalion at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., and serves as Marine Corps Training Command’s dedicated counter-drone training development cell. It is not designed to deploy as an operational force provider, but instead its role is to identify the threat, test emerging solutions, validate practical tactics, and transition those findings to MCRIG for service-wide implementation.

Col. Charles Anklam III, commanding officer, Weapons Training Battalion said that the two teams are designed to move at the speed of technology and through the analysis of exercises and operations, the service will learn how the tech should be use or defeated.

“Our responsibility is to rigorously test ideas, validate capabilities, and rapidly transition those findings to MCRIG, where they become standardized training that benefits every Marine. This partnership allows us to remain agile to the constantly changing threat, innovate quickly, and provide the fleet with consistently reliable, credible and operationally relevant information to increase lethality and survivability,” Anklam said.

Designated Training and Education Command (TECOM) regional hubs will execute MCRIG-approved courses throughout the Marine Corps, providing geographically distributed training while also returning operational observations and lessons learned to support continuous improvement of curriculum and tactics.

“The integrated training enterprise provides the Marine Corps with a sustainable framework capable of rapidly adapting as unmanned technologies evolve, ensuring Marines receive standardized, current, and operationally relevant instruction regardless of where they train,” reads the release.

Marine Corps units have been conducting various trials on the use of UAS in their training and exercises.

U.S. Marines with 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance, 1st Marine Division, Light Attack Helicopter Squadron (HMLA) 169 and Marine Special Operations Command conduct an in-aircraft, first person view unmanned aircraft system integration with an UH-1Y Venom at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, June 16, 2026. US Marine Corps photo Recently, the service trialled the use of first-person view (FPV) drones in maritime missions alongside infantry ground units utilizing the H-1 helicopter as a mobile, aerial control hub at sea. H-1 helicopters are the Marine Corps classification group for its AH-1Z Viper attack helicopter and UH-1Y Venom utility helicopter.

The service, in May, trialled the use of its H-1 helicopters as an airborne mothership for its Neros Archer FPV UASs. That testing focused strictly on proving the feasibility of operating drones from helicopters over land.

In another recent exercise supporting a Marine Forces Special Operations Command (MARSOC) boarding team on June 16 at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., Marines with Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron (HMLA) 169 and 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion proved that an H-1 helicopter can extend the reach of FPV technology to provide real-time reconnaissance for ground forces.

“This integration offers a crucial new capability for the Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) and the broader Joint Force by establishing a scalable path to safely combine aviation, infantry, and unmanned systems during high-risk maritime interdictions,” reads the release.

The exercise simulated a complex vessel boarding where, as the H-1 approached the target, a drone operating team inside the aircraft deployed and controlled a Neros Archer FPV drone. Leveraging the helicopter’s capability to become a further reaching and mobile command post, the team directed the drone to scout the ship’s deck and superstructure. This allowed them to identify potential threats and validate safe insertion points before any personnel were deployed to the vessel.

Marines aboard a UH-1Y Venom assigned to Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron (HMLA) 169, Marine Aircraft Group 39, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, toss a first person view unmanned aircraft system during an integration assessment exercise at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, California, May 13, 2026. US Marine Corps photo The innovation enhances the safety and effectiveness of Visit, Board, Search, and Seizure (VBSS) operations, a long-standing mission for H-1 squadrons. Typically, teams fast-roping onto hostile or uncooperative ships face significant risks due to limited visibility and uncertain threat conditions. By enabling helicopter formations to scout, target and provide overwatch from a safe distance, this integration reduces risk for the Marines boarding ships, making an intrinsically dangerous mission more controlled by reducing unknowns, reads the release.

While MCRIG was established to integrate Group 1 and 2 UASs, the Marine Corps are also trialling Group 3 UAS integration. The 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, conducted the Marine Corps’ pioneer test of the Group 3 JUMP 20-X UAS equipped with the Switchblade 300 Block 20 during Service Level Training Exercise 4-26 at MAGCC.

From July 16-17, 2nd Marines experimented with JUMP 20-X equipped with the Switchblade 300 Block 20 munition alongside developer, AeroVironment and engaged a target 25 kilometers into the battlespace. JUMP 20-X is a Group 3 unmanned aircraft system possessing capabilities of 12 hours in-air flight time, electro-optical infrared camera payloads, a 115-mile operational range and up to 30-pounds of payload capacity allowing it to carry the the Switchblade 300 Block 20, a loitering munition that was released from the undercarriage of the JUMP 20-X.

According to the release, using the Switchblade 300 Block 20 gives the Marine Corps an additional loitering munition that organically incorporates with troops on the ground, similar to Organic Precision Fires-Light that is currently used by infantry units and provides fires at the regiment level to engage the adversary.

A JUMP 20-X is displayed prior to takeoff during a flight launch at Service Level Training Exercise 4-26 on Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, California, July 16, 2026. US Marine Corps photo “We at 2nd Marines are the first ones testing a Group 3 asset at the Regimental level,” said CWO2 Christopher Leone, 2nd Marine Regiment intel operations and fusion officer and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance tactical controller. “The Marine Corps has the Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadrons 1, 2, and 3 that fly the MQ-9s in the Group 5 level of assets, but it would be great for the Regiment because we’re outside of the air wings. We’re supporting the Ground Combat Element that doesn’t have an asset that can fly as far as the Group 5, so this is something that hasn’t been tested before.”

The 2nd Marine Regiment has only USMC Group 1 Program of Record in their arsenal to include the Puma AE, and quadcopters such as SkyDio X2D and Sky Raider, Leone said. With Group 1 assets having small duration flight times and limited flight distance, the JUMP 20-X stands out for its longevity and ability to travel miles into deep battlespace.

As of now, the 2nd Marine Regiment does not have any Small Unmanned Aircraft System Operators, MOS 7316, who have the training to fly Group 3 assets, according to Leone. The unit is working to address that.

Currently, the Jump 20-X is being operated by AeroVironment contractors, who will continue to support its use by 2nd Marine Regiment in the MDMX and MWX force-on-force later this August.