At the Counter-UAS Technology USA conference in Washington, DC, C-UAS Hub Editor Adam Jeffs spoke with Lieutenant Colonel Robert Barclay, MACCS Integration Branch Head within the Aviation Combat Element Division at Marine Corps Combat Development and Integration, about how the U.S. Marine Corps is advancing its counter-UAS capabilities.
The discussion focused on the Marine Corps’ priorities for defending forces against small UAS, including efforts to reenergize air defense across the service and field organic, easy-to-use counter-drone capabilities for expeditionary forces.
Lieutenant Colonel Barclay explained how the Marine Corps approaches counter-UAS through the lens of airspace control, force protection and operational safety, highlighting the balance between kinetic defeat options and the need to manage risk to friendly forces and civilian populations.
Jeffs and Barclay discuss:
- Why air defense and counter-UAS have become top priorities for the Marine Corps
- The role of Joint Interagency Task Force-401 in accelerating counter-drone capability development
- Progress toward lightweight and lower-cost interceptors for close-range force protection
- The use of APKWS and hunter-killer drones to address different UAS threat groups
- How airspace management and aviation command and control shape Marine Corps counter-UAS decisions
