Marine Corps chooses trio for $249M loitering munitions contract
A Marine Corps landing support specialist prepares a TRV-50 Tactical Resupply Unmanned Aircraft System to resupply soldiers in the field during Balikatan 23 in Cerab, Philippines. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Tyler Andrews
By
Ross Wilkers
The Corps wants to have these smaller aerial weapons in the field as soon as federal fiscal year 2027.
The Marine Corps has awarded three companies positions on a potential eight-year, $249 million contract to build new loitering munition systems for dismounted soldiers in infantry rifle squads.
AeroVironment, Anduril Industries and Teledyne FLIR will compete for delivery orders to manufacture, test and deliver the non-developmental items that are designed to give Marines precision strike capability beyond their lines of sight.
The Organic Precision Fires-Light contract has an initial five-year base period and a three-year option period, according to a trio of award notices posted Wednesday.
Loitering munitions are aerial weapons that wait passively around an area until they locate the target, then crash into it. The idea is to speed up reaction times against hidden targets that appear for short periods of time, but by using smaller weapons that are harder to find.
The Corps wants to have loitering munitions in some squads as soon as federal fiscal year 2027. OPF-L is part of that service branch-wide effort to roll out the munitions that can be deployed from the individual soldier and from vehicles.
Marine officials want systems that are man-packable and consist of the loitering munition, related ground control station, training simulator and ancillary equipment needed to support the technology.