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Drone Destroyer From Below
by U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Christian Cortez
November
29,
2022
U.S. Marines with 2nd Low Altitude Air
Defense Battalion (LAAD) tested the Marine Corps’ newest
ground-based air-defense system, the Light Marine Air-Defense
Integrated System during October 2022.
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U.S. Marines with 2nd Low Altitude Air Defense Battalion (LAAD) search their surroundings during a demonstration with the Light Marine Air Defense Integrated System, or L-MADIS, at Marine Corps Outlying Landing Field Atlantic, North Carolina, Oct. 18, 2022. The L-MADIS is an electronic-attack system that counters unmanned-aircraft system by nonkinetic capabilities to destroy or negate aerial threats. 2nd LAAD is a subordinate unit of 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, the aviation combat element of II Marine Expeditionary Force. (Image
created by USA Patriotism! from U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Servante R. Coba.)
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The LMADIS provides 2nd LAAD and the Marine
Corps with the capability to deter and neutralize unmanned aircraft
systems.
The rising use of commercial off-the-shelf drones
for offensive warfare means the Marine Corps must make adjustments
to their ground-based air-defense capabilities. The LMADIS helps
mitigate threats by disrupting the electronic signals between the
UAS and its controller.
“With the constant evolving of
commercial drones, the one thing that won't change is the required
frequencies used to pilot any drone,” said U.S. Marine Corps Staff
Sgt. Dustin Yonkings, a LAAD gunner with 2nd LAAD.
The LMADIS
uses electronic weapons on a light and compact frame, the Polaris
MRZR, which allows the LMADIS to deploy to austere environments via
air transport.
“The difference is the expeditionary aspect of
it being able to be loaded on aircraft used for a wide set of
missions … [such as] CH-53E Super Stallions, CH-53K King Stallions,
and MV-22B Ospreys,” said Yonkings.
The LMADIS uses two
Polaris MRZRs, one acting as the brain and the other as the brawn.
Together, they house the CM262U optic, which acts as the ‘eyes’ of
the system; the RPS-42 radar and Skyview MP, which provide
360-degree air surveillance and long-range drone detection; the Modi
II, which is a dismountable electronic-warfare system used to
disrupt enemy drones and communications; and the AN/PRC-158
multichannel manpack radio system, which allows the LMADIS to
communicate everything it detects to troops in its immediate
vicinity and commanders in the rear echelon.
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U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Kevin Holdaway (left) and Cpl. Seth Silveira, low-altitude air-defense gunners with 2nd Low Altitude Air Defense Battalion (LAAD), send an electronic signal to jam a drone with the Light Marine Air Defense Integrated System, or L-MADIS, at Marine Corps Outlying Landing Field Atlantic, North Carolina, Oct. 18, 2022. The L-MADIS is an electronic-attack system that counters unmanned-aircraft system by nonkinetic capabilities to destroy or negate aerial threats. 2nd LAAD is a subordinate unit of 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, the aviation combat element of II Marine Expeditionary Force. (Image
created by USA Patriotism! from U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Servante R. Coba.)
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“Due to the current drone threat, we need
an expeditionary system that will combat it. The LMADIS serves as a
system that can be deployed at a moment's notice and attach to units
that need counter-UAS capabilities,” said Yonkings.
In
accordance with the Marine Corps’ Force Design 2030 modernization
efforts, the Marine Corps has activated a third firing battery for
each of the LAAD battalions to better support the Fleet Marine
Force. 2nd LAAD, a subordinate unit of 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, was
the first battalion in the Marine Corps to activate their third
firing battery.
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