The United States Marine Corps has established a new unit focused on armed first-person view (FPV) drones in response to the growing use of small, armed drones on modern battlefields, the Marines announced in a press release on Monday.
Maj. Gen. Anthony M. Henderson of Training Command and Brig. Gen. Simon M. Doran of the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory established the Marine Corps Attack Drone Team (MCADT) on January 3, 2025.
The team’s mission is to represent the Marine Corps in inter-Service, national, and international competitions and, through ongoing training and competition, contribute to the development of cutting-edge FPV drone capabilities.
The exact number of members in the MCADT is not specified in the press release. However, it notes that the drone team will be based at the Weapons Training Battalion (WTBn) at Quantico and will collaborate closely with the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory.
The team will reportedly draw on the history and technical experience of the Marine Corps Shooting Team and the Precision Weapons Section at Quantico.
“MCADT is committed to rapidly integrating armed first-person view drones into the FMF, enhancing small-unit lethality and providing organic capabilities that warfighters currently lack,” said Maj. Alejandro Tavizon, the officer in charge of the new team. “By leveraging emerging technologies and refining drone employment tactics, we are ensuring that Marines remain agile, adaptive, and lethal in the modern battlespace.”
The Marine Corps did not specify when the MCADT’s capabilities would be fully deployed.
