Marines at Camp Pendleton are learning how to shoot down small enemy drones with shotguns thanks to a new training course introduced during Exercise Steel Knight 25.
“The drones in the hands of our future adversaries are cheap, light, and maneuverable, so we must make sure that we stay ahead of this particular curve,” said Lt. Col. Reginald Thomas III, commanding officer of the headquarters and service battalion of the 1st Marine Logistic Group.
A live-fire range during the exercise served as a proof-of-concept for a newly developed course designed to evaluate methods and procedures for combating drone systems.
The Marines are concerned that small drones such as those used in Ukraine could disrupt supply lines and expose positions, as well as carry out strikes.
The anti-drone training came during the annual two-week exercise, which involved personnel from the I Marine Expeditionary Force, Navy 3rd Fleet, and 10th Air Force and concluded Dec. 14.
The exercise took place at locations across the Southwest, including Camp Pendleton, Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Beale Air Force Base and San Clemente Island. It tested I MEF’s ability to integrate capabilities in support of Indo-Pacific readiness and crisis response.
“Steel Knight 25 demonstrates exactly what makes the 1st Marine Division and the entire I Marine Expeditionary Force team the Marine Corps’ most combat-credible warfighting formation,” said Maj. Gen. Thomas Savage, commanding general of the 1st Marine Division.
Logistics was a major focus on the exercise, with units testing their ability to support forces in degraded or denied environments.
“Steel Knight enabled us to rehearse contested logistics in a realistic environment … in order to maneuver and win,” said Maj. Jonathan Chavez, the operations officer with Combat Logistics Regiment 1.
