WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE, NM -- The modern battlefield continues to change at a rapid pace, and the Marine Corps continues to invest and develop modern capabilities to counter emerging threats on the battlefield. Ground Based Air Defenses, including Counter-small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (C-sUAS), counter-Fixed Wing and Rotary Wing (FW/RW) and Cruise Missile Defense, are some of the critical capabilities the Corps is acquiring to defend against these emerging threats.
To support this need, last month the Marine Corps’ Medium Range Intercept Capability (MRIC) program completed a Quick Reaction Assessment (QRA) with Marines from 1st Low Altitude Air Defense Battalion (LAAD), which served as an Operational Assessment for MRIC. This event is extremely significant for the program in that it was the first time Marines executed the full kill chain, using MRIC in an operationally representative setting.
MRIC is a state-of-the-art defense technology that can detect, track, identify, and defeat enemy cruise missiles and other aerial threats. With the Corps' Ground/Air Task-Oriented Radar (G/ATOR) and Common Aviation Command and Control System as major subsystems and incorporating technology from the Israeli Ministry of Defense’s (IMOD) Iron Dome system, MRIC provides a competitive advantage in mobility and transportability in order to sustain operations inside an adversary’s weapons engagement zone. The Iron Dome interceptor, integrated into MRIC, is a highly reliable and combat-proven interceptor, with extensive operational experience accumulated over years of successful deployment in Israel. Developed and managed by the Israeli Missile Defense Organization (IMDO) at the Directorate of Defense Research & Development (DDR&D) at the IMOD, the Iron Dome interceptor has played a critical role in Israel’s Air & Missile Defense. IMDO also supports the effort to integrate this interceptor into MRIC, ensuring a seamless collaboration with the U.S. Marines.
"The event was highly successful,” said LtCol Matthew Beck, Product Manager for MRIC. “During the course of multiple weeks, we were able to provide initial training to the Marines on the MRIC system while also providing multiple reps and sets on emplacing, operating, and displacing the MRIC system. The event culminated in a live fire evolution in which the Marines demonstrated the ability to execute the full kill chain against highly relevant target sets."
Marines from all levels of understanding were able to quickly adapt and educate themselves on the application and operation of the MRIC system. This is a critical step in the development process, as the program office must ensure proficiency prior to fielding new equipment to the Force. But for Marines like Staff Sgt. Cody Kilmer, the learning process for him and his fellow Marines wasn’t difficult to grasp.
“I think we got the setup down,” said Kilmer. “We started crawl, walk, run. We started going slow in the beginning of QRA, just learning all the components and how to put them in, and then place the launcher in a static environment. We've gone outside of the compound to set up kind of on uneven terrain. They're really good at it now, they've had a lot of practice.”
The Marines followed up the practical emplacing and displacing training with a live fire of the MRIC System. During the live-fire scenario, the Marines were able to find, track, target, engage and assess both cruise missile and other representative targets. While there were some overarching constraints due to range and safety considerations, the Marines were able to conduct all operations of the system in a highly relevant operational scenario.
“The live-fire portion of the event was very successful and informative,” said Beck. “As with any live-fire event, the opportunity to learn about the system is paramount. During this event we were able to assess the operational suitability of the system with Marine operators at the controls. This was an important step towards delivering the much-needed capability to the fleet and we were able to collect critical data points, both qualitative and quantitative, which will continue to enhance the system.”
The team will now work closely with Marine Corps Operational Test and Evaluation Activity (MCOTEA) to analyze all the data points collected from the entire event, looking at a full spectrum of data to include system logs, photos and videos of the system performing (including the live fire), and feedback from the Marines who supported. According to Beck, the analysis will inform a future decision by the Program Executive Officer for fielding the MRIC to Marine units.
“The entire team that supported this event, from the program office personnel to MCOTEA personnel to the individual Marines operators to our industry partners, all performed absolutely in a superb fashion,” Beck said. “The speed, focus, and professionalism have been a model worth emulating. We cannot wait to get this impressive capability out into the hands of our Marines.”
Following the QRA, the program office will continue the prototyping process to inform and help refine the requirements for this critical warfighting capability and eventually reach a decision on fielding. The plan is to deploy the prototype capability to conduct complete initial training with Marine Corps operators, slated for 2nd or 3rd quarter FY25.