Marine Corps and Army missile systems are set to deploy to a key chokepoint in the Philippine Island chains for anti-ship drills during the military exercise known as KAMANDAG.
The unmanned, anti-ship Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System, or NMESIS, and the Army’s High Mobility Rocket Artillery System will feature prominently in the exercise with their emplacement between Luzon and Taiwan, U.S. Naval Institute reported.
The 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment’s NMESIS is heading to Batanes, the northernmost portion of Philippine territory. The platform first reached the island of Basco and Batan for Balikatan 2025, a maritime security exercise.
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That was the first time the Marines deployed the anti-ship missile to the Luzon Strait.
“The insertion of the NMESIS on Batan during Exercise Balikatan 25’s MKTSO was an achievement of a major milestone not just for 3rd MLR, but for the entire U.S. Marine Corps enterprise, signifying advancements in the service’s equipment fielding to employment timelines,” said Col. John G. Lehane, commanding officer of the 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment.
“In a matter of months, the NMESIS went from an experimental asset undergoing the rigorous initial operational testing and evaluation spearheaded by Marine Corps Systems Command and the program office, to a fully fielded weapon system capable of neutralizing the threat of adversarial vessels in contested littoral zones.”
Marine Rotational Force-Darwin will conduct corps-level command and control. The 3rd MLR will deploy their missile battery to Batanes using KC-130J transport aircraft, USNI reported.
“KAMANDAG 9 is a clear demonstration of the strength of the U.S.-Philippine alliance and our ironclad commitment to regional security and combined readiness,” said Col. Jason C. Armas, commanding officer of the MRF-D 25.3 MAGTF. “Training shoulder to shoulder with our Philippine Marine Corps partners isn’t just about building interoperability — it’s about forging trust in the crucible of shared hardship and preparing together to respond with speed and precision to any crisis, anywhere, anytime.”
The exercise is scheduled to run from May 26 to June 6 and will take place across the Philippine archipelago, including Luzon, Batanes, Tawi-Tawi and Palawan, according to a release.
Training events include maritime key terrain security operations, defensive counter-landing live-fire drills, littoral maneuver, amphibious operations and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, according to the release.
Japanese and Korean forces are scheduled to conduct amphibious drills in the province of Palawan, which faces the South China Sea, a key area of control for any potential conflict with Beijing.
The Army HIMARs will be transported by the Armed Forces of the Philippines alongside the Marine anti-ship systems. The service deployed the launchers during Balikatan 2024.
The missile units will rehearse maritime strikes in the Luzon Strait. Those systems can cover the 250-kilometer-wide strait through fires and sensors, USNI reported.
The 3rd MLR used a network of ground-based sensors and drones across Batanes and the Babuyan Islands during previous exercises.
Those operations included the Philippine territory of Mavulis, less than 90 miles from Taiwan.
Todd South has written about crime, courts, government and the military for multiple publications since 2004 and was named a 2014 Pulitzer finalist for a co-written project on witness intimidation. Todd is a Marine veteran of the Iraq War.