The Corps is going all in on small tactical drones as it preps for future war

We used some small drones in Afghanistan for our CSE teams, they work and Marines around us were also using them. They worked well, we would do a security halt, and then launch drone to look at rout make sure it was clear of possible IED's or any threat. They work, and the SOF guys we worked with had some real cool small ones smaller then the one we used. You would be surprised with all the Tech that is out on battle field, this was 2012-2013. I saw more when I went back over as a Contractor in 2015.

Thank you, my friend CW5 Jack Cardwell Small tactical drones “organic to tactical maneuver units, generally at the battalion level and below provide battlespace awareness and target development in support of squads, platoons, companies, battalions and Marine Special Operations Teams and Companies,” Marine Corps Combat Development Command/ Combat Development & Integration, spokesperson said.
"In the near future, maneuver elements will have a blend of VTOL [vertical take-off and landing] and Fixed Wing SUAS [small unmanned aerial system] based on the capabilities,” MCCDC/ CD&I explained. “The idea is to provide capability to lower echelons, understanding there comes with it increased human tasks and gear.”
Image at top is "Marines with 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, tested an Unmanned Aerial System, also known as the RQ-20 Puma, during part of the Battalion’s Marine Combat Corps' Readiness Evaluation at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, California, Mar. 13, 2017. (Lance Cpl. Mike Hernandez/Marine Corps)

"A briefing to Congress in January 2018 on the Corps’ family of small tactical drones highlighted the Marines’ desire to incorporate thousands of drones from the battalion level down to the squad.
The briefing slides, obtained by Marine Corps Times via Freedom of Information Act request, displayed a wide variety of small tactical drones generally weighing under 55 pounds with an array of capabilities and varying flight radii.
Marine Corps Combat Development Command/ Combat Development & Integration, or MCCDC/CD&I, told Marine Corps Times that the slides were no longer current and that “significant updates” have already been made to the Corps’ fixed wing and vertical take-off and landing systems.
But the drone briefing last January does provide a window into the Corps’ desire to stretch the range of its drones, its growing reliance on unmanned systems, its preparation for future warfare, and how the Corps is trying to keep pace with a technology rapidly evolving.
“In the near future, maneuver elements will have a blend of VTOL [vertical take-off and landing] and Fixed Wing SUAS [small unmanned aerial system] based on the capabilities,” MCCDC/ CD&I explained. “The idea is to provide capability to lower echelons, understanding there comes with it increased human tasks and gear.”
Small tactical drones “organic to tactical maneuver units, generally at the battalion level and below provide battlespace awareness and target development in support of squads, platoons, companies, battalions and Marine Special Operations Teams and Companies,” MCCDC/CD&I said.
Included in the brief were the fixed wing Stalker XE and quadcopter Aeryon SkyRanger.
These systems have not been highly publicized as being in the Corps’ fleet of tactical drone systems, unlike the widely known Instant Eye already fielded across the Corps’ squads.

Lockheed’s Stalker XE is a roughly 26 lbs fixed wing drone with a 50 km range that can fly up to eight hours with a fuel cell. The drone has been in use with Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command, or MARSOC."

FYI Capt Tom Brown SSgt Gary Andrews Cpl Gabriel F. Sgt David G Duchesneau Cpl (Join to see) Sgt Joe LaBranche Sgt (Join to see) Cpl (Join to see) LCpl (Join to see) Cpl Craig Marton SSgt Robert Marx GySgt Bryan A. McGown "Gunny" MGySgt Michael P. McNeal, MBA Cpl Casey Meyer Sgt James Morse LCpl Thomas Osmon SSgt Terry P. GySgt H.E. (Trey) Salmon III

Really helpful in getting an accurate look ahead on the battlefield