US Marines in Okinawa officially received the first Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) and Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS). The 2 systems have been assigned to the 12th Marine Littoral Regiment (12th MLR), 3rd Marine Division, as key capabilities in the “Stand-in Forces” concept of employment.

The NMESIS is a ground-based anti-ship missile system ideally suited to be deployed in sea denial operations in the littoral. It features a Naval Strike Missile (NSM) launcher, fixed to a Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, able to operate in both semi-autonomous and fully autonomous mode. It creates “no-go zones” for enemy ships from land, lets small Marine units on islands threaten large naval forces and perfectly fits the modern USMC Pacific-focused strategy of distributed, hard-to-target forces.

The MADIS is a short-range surface-to-air defense system on a highly mobile platform able to engage helicopters, fixed wing aircraft and small unmanned aircraft vehicles (UAV). The system is mounted aboard 2 4x4 Joint Light Tactical Vehicles (JLTV), that operate in a complementary duo: one vehicle primarily performing the role of counter-UAV detection and elimination, using multiple sensors and an electronic warfare system — while the second vehicle combats fixed wing and rotary aircraft with a multi-STINGER missile pod, 30mm cannon and electronic warfare capabilities.Built to counter the rise of cheap drones and modern air threats, the MADIS replaces older, less mobile air-defense setups, protecting frontline Marine units in contested environments.

The 12MLR has been the first projected forward USMC element to receive the NMESIS and MADIS, as part of a Corps tentative to push new tech across the Indo-Pacific. During the last Ex. BALIKATAN 26 with the Armed Forces of Philippines (AFP), 3rd MLR temporally deployed the NMESIS across multiple islands, using Air Force C-130Js and Army LCU-2000 landing craft.

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