Last Thursday (29), U.S. Marine Corps Commandant David Berger presented the latest research to lawmakers at a congressional hearing where several Marines combined unmanned Joint Light Tactical Vehicles (JLTVs) with anti-ship missiles to strike targets at sea from land.
Two Marine Corps majors and Oshkosh Corp technicians modified an unmanned Joint Light Tactical Vehicle by removing the compartment and installing an anti-ship missile system in the back. The Marine Corps brass was quite pleased with their results.
A U.S. Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) makes a tour of the countryside in Deir Ezzor, Eastern Province, Syria, Feb. 14, 2019.
This combined version is known as the Marine Expeditionary Ship Interceptor System (NMESIS). With the Naval Strike Missile (NSM) already on board and the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle fielded, the Marines are simply combining these two existing platforms to go after a problem together, Berger said.
“That’s how fast we have to move,” he said, adding, “Our job is to support the fleet commander, the fleet’s job is to support the joint force commander, and this is one way to accomplish that.”
According to a statement from the missile and defense company Raytheon Missile and Defense, the NMESIS was recently tested at Point Mugu Naval Proving Ground in California.
“Our Naval Strike Missile is an important weapon in resisting enemy use of critical maritime terrain,” said Kim Ernzen, vice president of Raytheon’s Naval Power Division, “This test plays a critical role in advancing the Marine Corps’ priority of modernizing maritime control and countermeasure operations, further demonstrating our partnership.”
This capability helps the Marine Corps support Navy operations, Berger told lawmakers at the hearing. Berger said, “Now we can move this equipment on warships, put it ashore and put adversary navies at risk to make sure the sea lanes stay open.”
The design is critical to the Marine Corps’ massive force. U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Eric Smith is highly complimentary and believes it is essential for the Marine Corps to have such systems.
In February, Smith spoke at the Armored Vehicle Conference about how the Marines are already using the JLTV and other objects to accomplish their missions.
According to the U.S. Naval Research Institute, Smith said, “The experiments we’ve done so far have been successful with light armored fire behind the JLTVs, and they are killing armor at long range with a roughly calculated battle suppression range of about one main battle tank killing another main battle tank range by a factor of 15 to 20.”
The press release does not provide an exact range for the new combined arms weapon, but Missile and Defense data indicates that the Navy Strike Missile can hit targets within 100 nautical miles.
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