The U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) and Philippine Marine Corps (PMC) conducted a Counter UAS subject matter expert exchange as part of the ongoing KAMANDAG 8 exercise on October 18.
Taking place in Palawan Provence in the Philippines and running from October 15-25, KAMANDAG 8 is the 8th annual iteration of the joint USMC and PMC led exercise designed to enhance the ability of the Philippine Armed Forces to conduct defensive and humanitarian operations.
The exercise represents a continued demonstration of the commitment of the Philippines and allied nations to the maintenance and advancement of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific. This year’s exercise has seen the return of personnel from the U.K, Australia, Japan and Korea and first-time participation for France, Indonesia and Thailand.
The Counter UAS specific segment saw representatives from USMC’s 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit and PMC’s Intelligence Company, 3rd Marine Brigade share expertise and utilize SteelRock Technologies’ NightFighter S Counter UAS system. According to SteelRock, NightFighter S is a “high performance, standalone threat neutralization system solution for use in a wide range of military and civil protection environments.”
The integration of systems such as the NightFighter S and direct focus on Counter UAS training demonstrates the growing importance allied militaries are placing on ensuring their ability to effectively deter and defeat UAS threats. This threat is particularly acute in the Indo-Pacific given the Chinese PLA’s substantial offensive drone capacity and their likely employment in any potential future operations in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea.
The incorporation of Counter UAS testing into KAMANDAG 8 follows similar emphasis on countering the drone threat seen during the Balikatan joint training exercise that took place in the Philippines from April 22 through May 10 earlier this year. Another U.S. and Philippines led exercise designed to enhance joint capabilities, Balikatan 24 also featured a Counter UAS subject matter expert exchange featuring representatives from the U.S., the Philippines and Japan.
In comments reflecting on the lessons learned from Balikatan 24, Major General Marcus Evans, Commander of the U.S. Army’s 25th Infantry Division outlined the challenge of defending against drone attacks as:
“How we can sense those threats that are approaching a formation, and then take actions to protect the formation or to interdict those elements… that are trying to strike us”.
The joint testing at Balikatan 24, comments by Major General Edwards and renewed focus during KAMANDAG 8 demonstrate that in both contracting activity and multilateral exercises, enhancing Counter UAS capabilities is an area of top and continued priority for the U.S. and global allies.
Post Image Credit: Sgt. Amelia Kang, 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit
