Marine Corps Restores Priority to Ground-Based Air Defense
Posted on September 23, 2020 by Richard R. Burgess, Senior Editor
ARLINGTON, Va. — After two decades of land combat in wars with no air threat beyond small drones, the Marine Corps is putting a high priority to ground-based air defense (GBAD) as it redesigns its force for expeditionary advance base operations in an era of great power competition.
The Marine Corps used to have batteries of Hawk surface-to-air missiles and later the Avenger system, augmented by short-range Stinger man-portable air-defense missiles (MANPADs) in their low-altitude air-defense battalions. Only the Stingers survived by the mid-2000s. In Afghanistan and Iraq, with no credible air threat, GBAD fell in priority in budgets and development as the Corps focused on ground combat systems such as armored vehicles, artillery and tactical aircraft.
https://seapowermagazine.org/marine-corps-restores-priority-to-ground-based-air-defense/
