The Marines’ Ultimate Drone-Fighting Playbook: How They’re Taking Down the Sky’s New Threat
Hello everyone. Today, we’re diving into the latest and greatest from the U.S. Marine Corps: a 90-page handbook dedicated to the art of drone warfare. Yes, you heard that right. The Marines have finally decided that fighting drones with clipboards and PowerPoint presentations just wasn’t cutting it, so they’ve published an official manual on how to employ and counter small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS). Let’s dissect this, shall we?
A Handbook for the Modern Battlefield
First off, let’s give credit where it’s due. The 1st Marine Division Schools’ Small UAS/Counter-small UAS Integration Handbook is a step in the right direction. It’s designed to support a new 10-day course at Camp Pendleton, aiming to churn out 400 drone-savvy Marines by year’s end. The foreword, signed by Lt. Col. Nick Freeman and two first lieutenants, promises frequent updates to keep pace with the ever-evolving world of drone warfare. Because nothing says “we’re ready for the future” like a document that admits it’ll be obsolete by next Tuesday.
The handbook isn’t a general reference; it’s a synthesis of lessons learned and best practices, aiming to fill the gaps left by other, presumably less useful, references. In other words, it’s the Marines’ way of saying, “We’ve been winging it, but now we have a PDF.”
From Surveillance to Strike: The Shift in Drone Doctrine
For years, the military treated small drones like flying GoPros—great for surveillance, maybe handy for delivering a pizza to a forward operating base, but not much else. Now, with the advent of “first-person view” and “one-way attack” drones, the Pentagon has realized that these buzzing nuisances can actually pack a punch. The Marines have even fielded their first attack drone team, tasked with figuring out how to turn these toys into weapons. It’s almost as if watching Ukraine and Russia turn the skies into a live-action version of Call of Duty finally got the brass’ attention.
The handbook reflects this shift, standardizing everything from vocabulary to strike briefs. Drone holding areas are named after women, battle positions after animals (starting with snakes, because why not), loitering areas after cigarettes, and task positions after insects. It’s like someone threw a frat party and a biology class into a blender and called it military doctrine.
Teamwork Makes the Drone Work
One of the handbook’s key points is that drone operations are a team effort. The operator isn’t a lone wolf; they’re part of a squad handling communications, targeting, mobility, and more. This is a welcome change from the old days, where the guy with the controller was basically the squad’s designated nerd. Now, he’s the guy who might save your life—or at least get some sweet footage for the after-action report.
The manual also includes detailed sections on camouflage and evasion, because apparently, the best way to avoid getting blown up by a drone is still to hide under a bush and hope for the best. There are charts, schematics, and tables galore, breaking down everything from drone specs to sample strike scenarios. It’s comprehensive, if a bit dry—think less “Top Gun” and more “Microsoft Excel: The Movie.”
Learning from the Best (and the Worst)
The handbook openly acknowledges that it’s borrowing lessons from the Russia-Ukraine war, where drones have been used to devastating effect. Samuel Bendett, an adviser on Russian military tech, calls the handbook evidence of a “psychological shift” in how the U.S. views drone threats. No longer are drones abstract nuisances; they’re immediate, lethal, and probably watching you right now. Sleep tight.
Bendett also points out that the next U.S. conflict might not look like Ukraine, but the echoes of that war will be heard in every future fight. China is already training its military in drone warfare, so the U.S. had better keep up. The handbook is a start, but as Bendett notes, it’s just the baton in a very tight race. Let’s hope the Marines don’t drop it.
What’s Missing?
Despite its thoroughness, the handbook admits it’s still a work in progress. It lacks sections on weaponeering considerations for drones carrying munitions and a full chapter on tactics, techniques, and procedures for one-way attack drones. In other words, the most exciting parts are still “coming soon.” It’s like buying a game on early access and finding out the multiplayer mode is still in development.
Conclusion: A Step Forward, But Not a Leap
So, what’s the verdict? The Marines’ new drone-fighting handbook is a solid step forward. It’s comprehensive, it’s practical, and it shows that the Corps is finally taking the drone threat seriously. But it’s also a reminder of how far behind the curve the U.S. military has been. The fact that we’re only now standardizing drone operations and integrating them into formations is, frankly, a bit embarrassing.
Still, progress is progress. The handbook is a living document, and with any luck, it’ll evolve as quickly as the threats it’s designed to counter. For now, though, it’s a good start—a necessary prescription for a military that’s been suffering from a severe case of drone denial. Let’s just hope the next update doesn’t require a co-pay.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is entirely my opinion.
Source: Marines now have an official drone-fighting handbook, https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/your-marine-corps/2025/08/04/the-marines-now-have-an-official-drone-fighting-handbook/
