U.S. Marines with Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron One, load a Marine Corps Expeditionary Arresting Gear System inside a KC-130J Hercules during Weapons and Tactics Instructor (WTI) course 1-24 at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Arizona, Oct. 2, 2023. WTI is an advanced, graduate-level course for selected pilots and…
By Robbin Laird In a visit to Quantico, I had a chance to talk with LtGen Karsten Heckl, who serves as the Commanding General, Marine Corps Combat Development Command, and the Deputy Commandant for Combat Development and Integration. I first met him when he was Assistant Deputy Commandant for Aviation,…
On 27 September 2023, the second Williams Foundation seminar for the year was held at the National Gallery in Canberra. The second provided a case study of building blocks for enhanced deterrent capabilities, namely shaping a multi-domain strike enterprise for the ADF and the support structure for so doing. At…
By Robbin Laird During my visit to MAWTS-1 in November 2023, I had a chance several times to talk with the CO of the command, Col Eric Purcell, about the evolution of the three WTIs he has been in charge of since he took command. Because I had visited in…
By Robbin Laird The strategic shift from the priority on the land wars to dealing with a world of multi-polar authoritarians and a diversity of contingency operations requires significant operational change in the force. Because MAWTS-1 is focused on standardized training for the operational force, they have an open aperture…
In an article by John Trevithick published on November 2, 2023, the author highlighted the weapons/platform combination represented by the Devil Ray USV with the Switchblade UAV: “The U.S. Navy drone speedboat armed with Switchblade 300 loitering munitions was able to successfully destroy multiple mock targets at sea during a recent test.…
By Robbin Laird During my November 2023 visit to MAWTS-1, I had a chance to meet with Maj Nicholas Peters to discuss the activities of the assault mission training part of MAWTS-1. Maj Peters is the Assault Support Department Head. While the traditional image of assault support remains a key…
By Robbin Laird In August 2023, Deputy Secretary of Defense Hicks announced a new "replicator" project or initiative. As she said in her speech: "At DoD, we’ve already been investing in attritable autonomous systems — across the military services, DIU, the Strategic Capabilities Office, and the combatant commands themselves —…
