SECNAV Names Future America-class Amphibious Assault Ship USS Helmand Province (credit: U.S. Navy)
Modern Day Marine, the largest military equipment, systems, services, and technology exposition exclusively targeted to Marines and the Corps, highlighted their need for innovation. The event, which took place at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., from April 30-May 2, is open to Defense Department active-duty and reserve service members, their families, defense contractor personnel, law enforcement, and members of the host organizations, the Marine Corps League and Marine Corps Association.
More than 300 GovCon exhibitors set up shop to display their latest warfighting technology to market to the government.
One notable event that happened during the expo was the naming of a future America-class amphibious assault ship. Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro announced that it will be called the USS Helmand Province in honor of the Marine Corps operations that took place in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province during Operation Enduring Freedom.
New tech initiatives
The Marine Corps recently stood up a new Fusion Center at its base in Quantico, Virginia, to bring together the service and defense contractors of all sizes to more efficiently field new technology.
Brig. Gen. David Walsh, head of Marine Corps Systems Command, said the center will expedite technology acquisition by demonstrating what’s on the cutting edge and how the service can plan to use it as it matures.
Stephen Bowdren, the service’s program executive officer for land systems, said that by getting a preview of what’s coming down the innovation pike, his team can determine ways to integrate new tech into existing programs.
Network unification is another effort to modernize the Marine Corps. It falls in line with the Pentagon’s Combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control Initiative to connect weapons and sensors across the military.
“If our systems don’t work together, then we’ll have to be partitioned. They have to work together so that we can work together,” said Brig. Gen. Stephen Lightfoot, director of the Capabilities Development Directorate.
Ideally, Marines in Luzon, Philippines should be able to connect to the cloud, but if that gets cut off, they should still be able to operate tactically using the data available locally, Kevin Murray, the service’s chief technology officer, said as an example. “When they reconnect back into [the cloud], when it becomes more permissive, then the opportunity to re-synchronize with the greater architecture is all about what we’re trying to do for the network unification,” Murray said.
Cybersecurity is a perennial need
USMC Maj. Gen. Lorna Mahlock of the Cyber National Mission Force speaks at the Modern Day Marine 2024 event (credit: Marine Corps Times)
The number of “as-a-service” models being used in cyberattacks is troubling, officials at the expo said. The democratization of technology and nation-states’ work with hacktivists are driving the malicious activity, said Maj. Gen. Lorna Mahlock, commander of the Cyber National Mission Force.
She pointed to Volt Typhoon, a Chinese state-sponsored hacker group that has compromised thousands of devices globally since it was discovered in May 2023, and the high likelihood it will continue. “I think we’re seeing Volt Typhoon activity continuing to persist. That’s in open source. We’re also seeing other actors using the tactics, techniques, and procedures,” Mahlock said. “The greatest form of flattery is to copy.”
Lt. Gen. Matthew Glavy, the service’s deputy commandant for information, added that bad actors’ theft of data to use as a bargaining chip “is almost getting routinized.”
What’s on the Marine Corps’ tech wish list
The Marine Corps is testing telemaintenance, or remote maintenance that would connect technicians with service members in the field who need to repair systems and gear. That would mean broken items wouldn’t have to be sent back to a depot for fixing; they could be back up and running much faster.
To test this plan, Marines are using mixed-reality goggles that both the technician and repairer wear, so they can see the same view and walk each other through the process.
“The impacts that this can have across the force are tremendous,” said Brig. Gen. Michael McWilliams, head of Marine Corps Logistics Command.
Leaders also want technology — from sensors to computers — that is lighter, smaller, and less reliant on power sources. “The systems have to be extremely easy to set up, tear down, configure [and] move quickly,” said Col. Devin Licklider, program manager for the Marine Air-Ground Task Force’s Command & Control at Marine Corps Systems Command.
Other elements defense contractors should consider:
- New technology must not depend on contractor field service support.
- Contracts must not off load functions to the cloud because frontline forces can’t count on internet connectivity.
- Prioritize containerization in support of modularity — making one unit that’s capable of many functions.
“I think [there are] opportunities for industry…to help us understand what that looks like — what’s appropriate at the tactical level, and then what needs to be resident in the cloud,” said Col. Thomas Dono, the Marine Corps’ program manager for intelligence and cyber operations.
One thing is for sure: Technology is ever-evolving, and the military’s need for the latest and greatest isn’t going anywhere. That’s why we are eagerly awaiting what comes of these requests for GovCons to focus on this year, and what new needs will arise at the 2025 Modern Day Marine event.