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 the accelerated improvement of equipped first-person view (FPV) drone technology and tactics, offering a glimpse into the evolving scenery of modern warfare and however aboriginal battles could beryllium fought.

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

The FPV drones utilized volition 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 with little capability, according to a property release from the service.

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

"MCADT is committed to rapidly integrating equipped first-person presumption drones into the FMF [Fleet Marine Force], enhancing small-unit lethality and providing integrated capabilities that warfighters presently lack," said Maj. Alejandro Tavizon, the 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 the modern battlespace."

Brett Velicovich, an Army seasoned with extended drone experience, told Fox News Digital that the instauration of MCADT has been agelong overdue arsenic the United States enters a drone arms contention with adversaries similar China, Russia and Iran.

A Neros Archer first-person presumption 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 portion now, we haven't had the needed technology, the needed expertise successful low-cost, highly scalable, lethal drone exertion that, frankly, is going to beryllium the adjacent portion of each portion of the adjacent warfare that we fight," helium said.

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

He pointed to Russia’s warfare successful Ukraine and the large-scale advancements successful home drone accumulation that person allowed Ukrainian forces to onslaught multi-million-dollar force tanks and vehicles with drones that outgo 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 implicit to the Ukrainian equipped forces. FPV drones equipped with fibre optics connection cardinal advantages implicit accepted UAVs. (Photo by Mykhaylo Palinchak/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images))

Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov announced successful December that Ukraine manufactured implicit 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 the year.

"You person companies and manufacturing plants successful Ukraine gathering 100,000 drones per month. One manufacturing works is gathering 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 the capacity to physique up to 100,000 drones a year.

A Marine pilots a first-person presumption 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 fig is acold beneath what the 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 the Military-Industrial Commission successful precocious April, said that astir each of the country’s defence 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 assorted types were delivered, with astir 4,000 alleged FPV drones equipped with virtual world power systems supplied to the frontlines daily," Putin said, according to a transcript released by the Kremlin. "I cognize well, conscionable arsenic galore of you present do, that these weapons are inactive successful abbreviated supply. We request much of them."

In this excavation photograph distributed by the Russian authorities bureau Sputnik, Russia's President Vladimir Putin chairs a Security Council gathering via videoconference astatine the 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 the world's starring shaper of user and commercialized drones.

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

"That’s alarming, due to the fact that 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 occupation — it’s a nationalist information threat," helium said.

Visitors presumption DJI drones astatine the 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 the U.S. doesn’t request to lucifer China drone for drone, but it needs a accumulation level that’s sustainable, determination astir a minimum of 250,000 drones per year.

"We are perfectly successful a drone arms contention with China — and losing isn’t an option. Success volition beryllium connected scaling production, protecting delicate proviso chains, and turbocharging innovation," helium said. "It's not conscionable astir gathering 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)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The U.S. National Drone Association volition big the Military Drone Crucible Championship successful Florida aboriginal this summer, wherever the Marines and the Army’s 75th Ranger Regiment volition vie to show their drone skills and tactics successful modern combat.