Us Marine Corps Creates Attack Drone Team As Arms Race With Russia, China Heats Up

The U.S. Marine Corps established an onslaught drone squad earlier this twelvemonth to respond to nan accelerated improvement of equipped first-person view (FPV) drone technology and tactics, offering a glimpse into nan evolving scenery of modern warfare and really early battles could beryllium fought.

The Marine Corps Attack Drone Team (MCADT) will beryllium based astatine nan Weapons Training Battalion, Marine Corps Base successful Quantico, Virginia.

The FPV drones utilized will connection squad-level lethality astatine a scope of up to 20 kilometers, astir 12.5 miles, for nether $5,000, compared to much costly weapons systems pinch little capability, according to a property release from nan service.

The Marine Corps Attack Drone Team utilized nan Skydio X2D drone arsenic a reconnaissance drone connected nan scope to showcase its capabilities connected nan battlefield. ((DVIDS / U.S. Marine Corps photograph by Cpl. Joshua Barker))

"MCADT is committed to quickly integrating equipped first-person position drones into nan FMF [Fleet Marine Force], enhancing small-unit lethality and providing integrated capabilities that warfighters presently lack," said Maj. Alejandro Tavizon, nan office institution commandant astatine Weapons Training Battalion and serviceman successful complaint of MCADT.

"By leveraging emerging technologies and refining drone employment tactics, we are ensuring that Marines stay agile, adaptive, and lethal successful nan modern battlespace."

Brett Velicovich, an Army seasoned pinch extended drone experience, told Fox News Digital that nan creation of MCADT has been agelong overdue arsenic nan United States enters a drone arms title pinch adversaries for illustration China, Russia and Iran.

A Neros Archer first-person position drone sits connected a lawsuit during a objection scope astatine Weapons Training Battalion connected Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, March 7, 2025. ((DVIDS / U.S. Marine Corps photograph by Cpl. Joshua Barker))

"For a while now, we haven't had nan needed technology, nan needed expertise successful low-cost, highly scalable, lethal drone exertion that, frankly, is going to beryllium nan adjacent portion of each portion of nan adjacent warfare that we fight," he said.

Velicovich based on that nan United States is acold down different countries, particularly China, erstwhile it comes to nan production of drone technology, and needs to commencement looking astatine drones not conscionable arsenic surveillance assets, but arsenic a shape of ammunition.

He pointed to Russia’s warfare successful Ukraine and nan large-scale advancements successful home drone accumulation that person allowed Ukrainian forces to onslaught multi-million-dollar force tanks and vehicles pinch drones that costs a fewer 100 dollars.

KYIV, UKRAINE - 2025/04/01: A batch of fibre optic controlled First Person View (FPV) drones are seen earlier being handed complete to nan Ukrainian equipped forces. FPV drones equipped pinch fibre optics connection cardinal advantages complete accepted UAVs. (Photo by Mykhaylo Palinchak/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images))

Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov announced successful December that Ukraine manufactured complete 1.5 cardinal FPV drones successful 2024, including reconnaissance, kamikaze and long-range deep-strike drones. Domestically produced drones accounted for 96.2% of each unmanned aerial vehicles utilized by Ukrainian forces during nan year.

"You person companies and manufacturing plants successful Ukraine building 100,000 drones per month. One manufacturing works is building 100,000 of these things per month. That's existent scale. That's wherever we request to be," Velicovich told Fox News Digital.

The WSJ, citing 1 Department of Defense estimate, reported that the U.S. has nan capacity to build up to 100,000 drones a year.

A Marine pilots a first-person position drone during a objection scope astatine WTBn connected Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, March 7, 2025. ((DVIDS / U.S. Marine Corps photograph by Cpl. Joshua Barker / Fox News Digital))

US, EUROPEAN ALLIES DEMAND ACTION TO END RUSSIA'S USE OF IRANIAN DRONES IN UKRAINE

The number is acold beneath what nan United States’ adversaries, specified arsenic Russia and China, nutrient successful a year, raising nationalist information concerns.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking astatine a gathering of nan Military-Industrial Commission successful precocious April, said that almost each of nan country’s defense enterprises had met their orders successful afloat past year, highlighting Moscow’s efforts to ramp up its warfare machine.

"Over 1.5 cardinal drones of various types were delivered, pinch astir 4,000 alleged FPV drones equipped pinch virtual reality power systems supplied to nan frontlines daily," Putin said, according to a transcript released by nan Kremlin. "I cognize well, conscionable arsenic galore of you present do, that these weapons are still successful short supply. We request much of them."

In this excavation photograph distributed by nan Russian authorities agency Sputnik, Russia's President Vladimir Putin chairs a Security Council gathering via videoconference astatine nan Kremlin successful Moscow connected March 28, 2025. ((Photo by Sergei Ilyin/Pool/AFP via Getty Images))

Chinese exertion institution DJI is besides making important inroads successful drone production, successful some U.S. and Asian markets. It touts itself arsenic nan world's starring shaper of user and commercialized drones.

Craig Singleton, a elder China chap astatine nan non-partisan Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital that nan Shenzhen-based institution dominates nan world drone market, controlling much than 70% of nan worldwide marketplace share.

"That’s alarming, because DJI drones are essentially data collectors for Beijing — giving China imaginable entree to delicate infrastructure imagery, formation patterns, and more. It’s not conscionable a market-share problem — it’s a nationalist information threat," he said.

Visitors position DJI drones astatine nan World Intelligent Manufacturing Expo 2024 successful Nanjing, China, connected December 20, 2024.  ((Photo by Costfoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images))

AI-POWERED ATTACK DRONES TAKE FLIGHT

Singleton added that nan U.S. doesn’t request to lucifer China drone for drone, but it needs a accumulation level that’s sustainable, location astir a minimum of 250,000 drones per year.

"We are perfectly successful a drone arms title pinch China — and losing isn’t an option. Success will dangle connected scaling production, protecting delicate proviso chains, and turbocharging innovation," he said. "It's not conscionable astir building drones — it’s astir fielding smarter, cheaper and much resilient swarms faster than Beijing."

DJI drones connected display. ((Costfoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images) | (CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images) / Fox News Digital)

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The U.S. National Drone Association will big nan Military Drone Crucible Championship successful Florida later this summer, wherever nan Marines and nan Army’s 75th Ranger Regiment will compete to show their drone skills and strategies successful modern combat.