What People Were Talking About at the Big Modern Day Marine Expo

I spent three days at the Marines’ big annual modern warfare expo in Washington, DC. Drone tech stole the show.

Marines, Pentagon officials, and defense industry executives spoke extensively on panels and in private discussions about the uphill battle of preparing for future warfare, and drones were a hot topic. Marine leaders discussed the difficulties of getting many more drones into the hands of troops and the challenges of adapting to war with these systems.

The Modern Day Marine expo is focused on the innovations Marines need to fight future wars, so it’s no surprise that everyone was buzzing about drones this year. These highly versatile machines which can surveil enemies, carry out precision strikes, and more have been redefining contemporary warfare.

Their uses were on display at the “Drone Zone,” a section of the expo featuring demos from the Marines’ Attack Drone Team. There was also a section devoted to wargaming, another focused on warfighting, and countless booths where companies pitched ideas on what tech Marines might need for future fights.

Game-changing warfare technology

In what was basically a UAS mini-symposium, held in a cluster of quiet rooms in the convention center, about two dozen Marines — from generals to senior enlisted —hashed out what’s working and what’s not when it comes to drones.

Some expressed concerns about fielding and implementing uncrewed aerial systems within the Corps.

Leaders cited the difficulty of getting drones into the hands of troops due to the slow and complex military acquisition process, as well as tricky procedural and regulatory issues, like deconflicting flight space with the FAA, negotiating on-base training flights for logistics drones, and mitigating risks for civilians on the ground.

I was a little surprised by just how open to reporters like me these intimate panels were and was struck by just how frank Marines were in speaking with me and helping me better understand their challenges.

“We’ve got to field drones at scale in order to be able to pressurize our training really, to work through some of the real hard problems,” said Lt. Gen. Benjamin Watson, who oversees the service’s Training and Education Command, during a media event.

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

The newly established Attack Drone Team is an important part of the Corps’ drive to learn from the war in Ukraine and bring small uncrewed systems into missions. The team demonstrated drone capabilities every few hours at MDM; it will serve as a foundation for competitive teams across bases.

Other technology attendees buzzed about at the expo were electronic warfare, virtual training simulators, and the need for quantum communications.

Getting Marines into the fight

Drones are invaluable tools, but they won’t be much help if the service can’t physically get to conflict zones. That’s why an initiative called “3.0 MEU,” another timely topic at MDM, is a consistent strategic concern for the Marines’ top general.

A MEU, or Marine Expeditionary Unit, is a response force of around 2,200 Marines and sailors who carry out combat missions like amphibious assaults or respond to crises like embassy evacuations.

The Marine Corps term “3.0 MEU” refers to having three groups deployed simultaneously, one from the East Coast, one from the West Coast, and one from a US base in Japan, plus enough ships to have some preparing for deployments, with plans for others to be undergoing intense maintenance cycles.

Long-standing concerns about Navy ship readiness mean that having three groups of three ships deployed with embarked MEUs, with others in training pipelines and maintenance, is really still just a goal for now.

“This is about more than ships, it’s about deterrence and denial,” Marine Corps Commandant Eric Smith said. “That is why the 3.0 ARG MEU matters; it gives our leaders options.” (ARG refers to the naval warship groups known as Amphibious Ready Groups).

The Navy operates and maintains the ships that Marines deploy on. But its fleet has been forced to contend with overwhelming maintenance and repair backlogs. The bedrock of American naval power, the US shipbuilding industry, has been plagued with troubles, too.

With the state of the fleet, there are concerns that it isn’t sufficiently prepared for emergencies.

“There’s a saying that wars are a come-as-you-are game,” said Lt. Gen. Karsten Heckl, the commanding general of Marine Corps Combat Development Command, told Military.com last year on the impact of dismal ship readiness for Marines. “Well, this is where we are. And there is simply no immediate fix.”

Taking care of Marines by fixing their housing

Maintaining a mission-ready force requires upkeep of the facilities that troops live in to ensure a certain quality of life.

Renovating barracks, the military equivalent of dormitories, was another important topic at the MDM expo. Barracks across the DoD have deteriorated due to insufficient maintenance, sometimes resulting in mold, water issues, and poor ventilation.

The issue has been exacerbated by decades of war in the Middle East and is one that the lowest, unmarried enlisted ranks deal with regularly.

Now, Marine leaders are trying to boost barracks renovations, which they also hope can help increase force retention. “Barracks 2030” is the Corps’ refurbishment answer. But it comes with a steep price tag, nearly $11 billion through 2037.

“The idea is not to fix it and forget it,” Lt. Gen. James Adams, Deputy Commandant for Programs and Resources, said of the initiative during a panel on the topic. He added that the service “got ourselves into the position we’re in now” by neglecting maintenance.

But funding for Barracks 2030 hinges on Congress, and if lawmakers don’t elect to fund the overhaul, it’s likely to face painful delays. So it is getting more attention.