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Marine Corps Fields New Rocket System
by U.S. Marine Corps Matt Gonzales, Systems Command
July 23,
2021
Marines have begun receiving a new, explosive rocket launcher
that provides additional protection and lethality in urban
environments.
In May 2021, Marine Corps Systems Command began
fielding the M3A1 Multi-Role Anti-Armor Anti-Personnel Weapons
System to infantry Marines in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. The
MAAWS is a reloadable, recoilless rocket system intended to
supplement existing shoulder-fired rocket capabilities.
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U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Sebastien Auguste, a Long
Island, N.Y. native, and instructor for the Advanced
Infantry Course at the School of Infantry-East, utilizes the
M3E1 Multi-purpose Anti-armor Anti-personnel Weapon System
(MAAWS) to engage targets during a live-fire training with
1st Battalion, 2d Marine Regiment (1/2), 2d Marine Division
(2d MARDIV) on Camp Lejeune, NC on May 6, 2021. 1/2 is
tasked as 2d MARDIV’s experimental infantry battalion to
test new gear, operating concepts and force structures. The
unit’s findings will help refine infantry battalions across
the Marine Corps as we continue to push toward the end state
of Force Design 2030. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl.
Emma L. Gray)
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“The MAAWS is a reusable, long-range weapon that provides the
capability to destroy armored vehicles, structures and
fortifications, which will be useful for infantry Marines,” said
Capt. Christopher Adsit, MCSC’s project officer for the MAAWS.
The system consists of the M3A1 Carl Gustaf Recoilless Rifle, a fire-control system and a
backup reflex sight Marines can use if the primary optic
malfunctions. It includes munitions that provide obscuration,
illumination, anti-personnel, armor penetration, bunker- and
hardened-facility penetration, and other destruction capabilities.
“It has the ability to fire [illumination], smoke and
airburst-style rounds,” said CWO4 David Tomlinson, MCSC’s infantry
weapons officer. “The capability will allow the warfighter to engage
the enemy in defilade, reinforced bunkers and buildings.”
The
MAAWS is augmenting the Mk153 Shoulder-Launched Multipurpose Assault
Weapon, a rocket system initially fielded to Marines in 1984 before
undergoing several modifications in the 2000s. The Marine Corps has
used the SMAW to destroy armored vehicles, bunkers and other
fortifications.
However, the MAAWS can engage enemies at
farther distances when compared with the SMAW. The MAAWS can also
hit moving targets with the aid of its fire control system,
increasing the accuracy and overall lethality of infantry squads.
Adsit said the MAAWS will also supplement the explosive power of
the M72 Light Anti-Tank Weapon, a portable, one-shot anti-tank
weapon. The additional rounds available to the MAAWS increase a
squad’s options for target engagement.
“This new rocket
system shoots farther than any of our current shoulder-launched
rocket systems,” said Adsit. “It significantly increases the
shoulder-fired rocket range.”
Earlier this year, new
equipment, live-fire training events at the Schools of Infantry East
and West enabled nearly 100 Marines to test the weapon. The MAAWS
was well-received among participating Marines, including Sgt. David
Beggel, a squad leader with 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment.
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U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Andrew Ritchie, a Macomb,
Mich. native, an armorer with School of Infantry-East,
utilizes the M3E1 Multi-purpose Anti-armor Anti-personnel
Weapon System to engage targets during a live-fire training
with 1st Battalion, 2d Marine Regiment (1/2), 2d Marine
Division (2d MARDIV), on Camp Lejeune, NC on May 6, 2021.
1/2 is tasked as 2d MARDIV’s experimental infantry battalion
to test new gear, operating concepts and force structures.
The unit’s findings will help refine infantry battalions
across the Marine Corps as we continue to push toward the
end state of Force Design 2030. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by
Lance Cpl. Emma L. Gray)
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“When we do urban operations, we carry a rocket because you
don’t know what kind of enemy we’ll have, what capabilities they’ll
have,” said Beggel. “This gives us a wide range of opportunities and
assets that we can use to destroy a vehicle or take out [the
enemy].”
Increasing the lethality of Marines helps the Marine
Corps meet future force design goals. Tomlinson said the overall
capabilities of the MAAWS allows platoons to operate in more
dispersed environments, supporting Commandant of the Marine Corps
Gen. David Berger’s vision for lower-level units to control more
battlespace area.
“The MAAWS is important because it gives
the squad an enhanced capability with increased lethality and will
bring a greater combined-arms solution to the enemy,” said
Tomlinson. “The rocket system will change the way the infantry squad
fights.”
Tomlinson said all Fleet Marines will receive the
MAAWS by the end of 2023 and Reserve Marines by 2024. He projects
every Marine Corps battalion to have the weapon in their arsenal by
2025.
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