US Marine Corps explores enhanced unmanned logistics

The US Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory (MCWL) concluded Limited Objective Experiment (LOE) 2.2, a test of logistics elements of the US Marine Corps' (USMC's) scalable Marine Air Ground Task Force on 7 August.

The service is continuing to explore autonomous ground vehicles as part of its shift away from the static conflicts of the past decade toward fleet marine operations.

LOE 2.2 featured the Ground Unmanned Support Surrogate (GUSS) unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) as a support vehicle to dismounted infantry. MCWL also employed two autonomous 7-ton Oshkosh Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacements (MTVRs) for convoy operations.

The scenario centred on a notional sea-based logistics tasking and tested several technologies split between two foot-mobile company landing teams and two eight-vehicle logistics platoons.

The exercise was designed to help shape the marine's CONOPS after they leave behind the robust communication infrastructure and forward operating bases (FOBs) of Afghanistan. As the service's focus shifts to sea-based capabilities, the MCWL is developing next-generation communication and logistic trains to allow marines to operate without a so-called steel mountain of heavy equipment.

"It's an on-time logistics mentality, pushing supplies to them daily," said USMC Captain George Sweetland with MCWL at Fort Pickett on 30 July.