What people were talking about the great modern marine exhibition

I spent three days at the major annual exhibition of modern marine war in Washington, DC. Drone Tech stole the show.

Marines, Pentagon officials and defense industry leaders have talked a lot about the panels and private discussions on the difficult battle for preparing future war, and drones were a hot topic. Marine leaders discussed the difficulties of putting many more drones in the hands of the troops and the challenges of adaptation to war with these systems.

The modern marine exhibition focuses on the innovations that the navies need to fight against future wars, it is therefore not surprising that everyone is buzzing with drones this year. These very versatile machines that can monitor enemies, carry out precision strikes and others have redefined contemporary war.

Their uses were exhibited in the “Drone area”, a section of the exhibition with demos of the Marine attack drones team. There was also a section devoted to Wargaming, another focusing on war fights and countless stands where companies presented ideas on what Tech Marines may need future fights.

Revolutionary war technology

In what was essentially a mini -symposium of the UAS, held in a group of calm rooms in the Congress Center, about two dozen navies – from generals to enlisted seniors – have deposited what works and what does not work with regard to drones.

Some have expressed concerns about the implementation and implementation of unixed air systems within the body.

The leaders have cited the difficulty of putting the drones in the hands of the troops due to the process of slow and complex military acquisition, as well as the problems of delicate procedural and regulation, such as the disconception of the flight space with the FAA, the negotiation of the training flights for logistics drones and the attenuated risks for civilians on the ground.

I was a little surprised by the way journalists like me were open, these intimate panels were and I was struck by the way Frank Marines was by talking to me and helping me better understand their challenges.

“We owe drones on the ground on a large scale so that we can really put pressure on our training, to solve some of the real difficult problems,” said Lieutenant-General Benjamin Watson, who oversees the service and education command of the service during a media event.

He added that he expects the service to receive more drones and munitions of blurred or one -way attack drones, During the next year.

The team of newly established attack drones is an important part of the will of the body to learn from the war in Ukraine and to put small systems not linked to missions. The team has demonstrated drone capacities every few hours at MDM; It will serve as a basis for competitive teams through the bases.

The other participants in technology buzzed in the exhibition were electronic war, virtual training simulators and the need for quantum communications.

Bring the navies into the fight

Drones are invaluable tools, but they will not be much useful if the service cannot physically access conflict areas. This is why an initiative called “3.0 Meu”, another appropriate subject of MDM, is a coherent strategic concern for the general general of the Navies.

A furniture, or expeditionary marine unit, is a response force of around 2,200 navy and sailors who carry out combat missions as amphibious attacks or respond to crises such as the evacuations of the embassy.

The term of the navy “3.0 Meu” refers to the deployment of three groups simultaneously, one from the east coast, one from the west coast and one of an American base in Japan, as well as enough ships to have a preparation for deployments, with plans so that others are under the intense maintenance cycles.

Long -standing concerns about preparing the navy ships mean that having three groups of three ships deployed with an on -board furnished, with others in training and maintenance pipelines, is really just a goal for the moment.

“This is more than ships, it is a deterrent and denial,” said Eric Smith, commander of the Marine Corps. “This is why the 3.0 ARG FOO is important; this gives our leaders options.” (ARG refers to groups of naval warships called amphibious ready groups).

The navy operates and maintains the ships on which the Marines deploy. But his fleet was forced to cope with overwhelming maintenance and repair arrears. The foundation of American naval power, the American naval construction industry, was also in the grip of problems.

With the state of the fleet, it is feared that it is not sufficiently prepared for the emergency room.

“There is a saying that wars are a game of coming,” said Lieutenant-General Karsten Heckl, general commander of the Marine Corps Combat Development Command, told Military.com last year on the impact of the glow preparation of ships for the Marines. “Well, that’s where we are. And there is simply no immediate solution.”

Take care of navies by repairing their accommodation

Maintaining a force leaving for the mission requires the maintenance of the installations in which the troops live to ensure a certain quality of life.

The renovation of the barracks, the military equivalent of the dormitories, was another important subject to the MDM Expo. The barracks through the DOD have deteriorated due to insufficient maintenance, sometimes causing mold, water problems and poor ventilation.

The question was exacerbated by decades of war in the Middle East and is that to which the lowest and unmarried ranks are regularly enlisted.

Now, marine leaders are trying to stimulate the renovations of the barracks, which they say, can also help increase the retention of the forces. “Barracks 2030” is the body renovation response. But it comes with a high price, almost $ 11 billion until 2037.

“The idea is not to repair it and forget it,” said Lieutenant-General James Adams, assistant commander for programs and resources, about the initiative during a panel on the subject. He added that the service “put us in the position in which we are now” by neglecting the interview.

But the financing of the 2030 barracks depends on the congress, and if the legislators do not choose to finance the overhaul, it is likely to deal with painful delays. It therefore draws more attention.