Last December, the Marine Corps wowed a small audience in Quantico, Virginia, with a demonstration of a fully autonomous UH-1 Huey helicopterthat could navigate, conduct pre-set missions, and even assess landing conditions, all without a human in the loop.

The secret ingredient was the Autonomous Aerial Cargo/Utility System, or AACUS, a kit that can be mounted on a rotary-wing aircraft to transform it from a manned aircraft to an autonomous one. And now, AACUS is a finalist for an elite aviation award.

According to the Office of Naval Research, which leads the AACUS program, it’s now a finalist for the 2017 Robert J. Collier trophy, awarded by the National Aeronautic Association for “the greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America, with respect to improving the performance, efficiency, and safety of air or space vehicles, the value of which has been thoroughly demonstrated by actual use during the preceding year.”..”

Forrás : https://www.military.com/defensetech/2018/02/20/marines-self-flying-helicopter-kit-finalist-top-aviation-award.html?ESRC=marine_180220.nl

At 18, Becket Kiernan was a driven young man with a big heart, great smile and infectious laugh who was living the life he always wanted: as a Marine.

Kiernan, who was from Rochester, died suddenly Feb. 5 at Marine Corps Base 29 Palms in California from an aggressive bacterial infection called Necrotizing Fasciitis, according to a Facebook post by his mother, Lynda Kiernan.

“All Becket ever wanted since he was young was to be a Marine and to help people, and we are so proud of him,” his mother wrote online. “There are no words yet created to express how my heart is broken.”

The 2017 graduate of Old Rochester Regional High School, thrived in the environment of the Fall River Young Marines, a coed, youth organization for boys and girls, ages 8 to 18, earning high praise from adult leaders…”

Forrás : https://www.military.com/daily-news/2018/02/14/18-year-old-marine-dies-flesh-eating-bacteria-29-palms.html?ESRC=marine_180220.nl

The infantry unit of the future is sophisticated, with electronic warfare capabilities, robust intelligence and reconnaissance capabilities, and the ability to conduct local influence operations.

And the future is now.

When Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Robert Neller named an experimental infantry unit, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, in early 2016, much of the concept was built around hardware: testing out unmanned systems, vehicles, and weapons for use by the force. But, more than a year later, many of the recommendations coming out of the experiment have to do with enhancing the skill set inherent in the infantry battalion, not just the gear the unit carries…”

Forrás : https://www.military.com/defensetech/2018/02/13/future-marine-infantry-units-may-have-psyop-capabilities-more-snipers.html?ESRC=marine_180220.nl

Armed with shiny new skis and with more robust packs on the way, infantry Marines may soon be making routine trips to Alaska to train in harsh cold weather conditions, a possibility that signals a major departure from the desert training environments of recent years.

Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Robert Neller confirmed to Military.com in a December interview that the service was exploring ways to add an Alaska location to the currently limited array of options for cold weather training.

“There’s a lot of good training areas in Alaska,” he said. “There’s actually some facilities and capabilities in Alaska we’ve been up to look at.”..”

Forrás : https://www.military.com/daily-news/2018/02/18/marines-may-go-alaska-cold-weather-training.html?ESRC=marine_180220.nl