Challenges on the Way to Counter-UAV Development

Challenges on the Way to Counter-UAV Development

The Joint Light Tactical Vehicle climbs extreme terrain at the U.S. Marine Corps Transportation Demonstration Support Area aboard Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va.

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The US Marine Corps is moving on with plans to field a new ground-based air-defense system built around the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) to defeat manned and unmanned aircraft. However, challenges integrating Moog’s Reconfigurable Integrated-weapons Platform (RIwP) onto the vehicle led, in part, to program delays and the service’s hunt for a different turret.

While the Marine Corps had anticipated using the platform for its Marine Air Defense Integrated System [MADIS] Increment 1 program, associated weight and egress hurdles pushed the service to seek a “lighter turret”, according to Fiscal Year 2021 (FY 2021) budget request documents.

“The MADIS program is built on the premise of integrating mature components into the recently fielded JLTV as a means of getting capability to the warfighter in an expeditious and cost-effective manner,” Barb Hamby, a spokesperson for the Program Executive Officer (PEO) Land Systems, told janes.com. “Early challenges experienced while integrating army and Marine Corps developed components into a JLTV required the program office to seek alternative solutions for the turret, command and control (C2), and other systems.”

However, the service is still anticipating fielding a “relevant capability” by the fourth quarter of FY 2022.

Under the MADIS effort, the USMC envisions fielding two vehicle variants dubbed Mk1 and Mk2. The MADIS Mk1 includes a turret-launched Stinger missile, multi-functional electronic warfare (EW) capability, direct fire weapon, electro-optical infra-red (EO/IR) optic, and a shoulder-fired Stinger missile for dismounted operations, according to the service. 

The MADIS Mk2, meanwhile, is envisioned as the counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS) variant and includes a multi-function EW capability, 360° radar, direct fire weapon, EO/IR optic, and supporting C2 communications suite.

US Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) program is designed to part-replace the Humvee High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle with a family of more survivable vehicles with greater payload.