US Marine Corps unveils first standardised drone platform for training and general use

The US Marine Corps (USMC) is moving towards having the Archer family of first-person view (FPV) small uncrewed aerial vehicles (sUAVs) as its primary drone capability. The information was confirmed in a media roundtable conducted last week by the service’s Training and Education Command.

“Neros’ Archer is what we are currently looking at for service-wide use and training at this point in time,” Col Charles Anklam III, Commanding Officer of the Weapons Training Battalion, stated.

For Matty Todhunter, Shephard Defence Insight air desk lead and senior UAV analyst, the capability has been selected due to multiple reasons, including the fact that it is “an all-American version of the FPV drones that have become vital for frontline troops during the Russian-Ukrainian War”.

Related Articles

Why is the US military focusing on having low-cost, disposable drones in its inventory?

2025 UAV market review: $7.8 billion in new contracts signed as US leads spending

Why small guns have been critical to layered CUAS architectures

“Its fully customisable payload configurations, which allow it to be outfitted for strike or non-strike missions, will enable soldiers to be trained in two distinct drone mission types with a single platform,” Todhunter added.

The Archer family consists of five-inch, 10-inch and the original eight-inch variant. Controlled via the Neros Flatbow Ground Control System, the drones have been designed to operate in areas with electronic interference.

Todhunter believes that another reason to have Archer as the primary system is its presence in the US Department of Defense (DoD) BlueUAS certified list. “[Additionally], Neros reportedly makes all the drone’s key components itself, with no reliance on third-party manufacturers,” he explained.

“The sovereignty of the drone means that US forces will have access to a cyber-secure platform free from the complications and potential restrictions on importing components, with the company’s production capacity as the only possible limit on supply,” Todhunter added.

According to the company, Archer is an easily modifiable platform built without Chinese components to be a trusted, secure system for operations in contested environments.

Rather than relying on a sole system, Anklam stressed that the service intends to continue to assess the potential of other solutions.

“We continue to develop that partnership with the DDP [US DoD Drone Dominance Programme]”, he said. “New platforms are emerging, and we are validating those capabilities as they will come online to augment the inventory.”

Neros Archer’s operators

Neros announced in November last year a multi-million-dollar delivery order contract with the USMC to provide drones, training and support across the Fleet Marine Force.

Apart from the USMC, the system has also been in operation with the US Air Force (USAF), US Army and US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM).

In August 2025, the USAF published an Intent to Sole Source notice for the Archer to equip the Air Force Special Operations Command. In the document, the branch stated that Neros was “the only authorised UAS on the BlueUAS Cleared Vendors list capable of FPV and carrying a payload of 10lbs”.

Meanwhile, the army acquired the capability in November last year under the Purpose-Built Attritable System programme. The Naval Special Warfare Command, in turn, announced a deal for an undisclosed number of drones in August 2025 for the USSOCOM.

In terms of international users, in February 2025, the Ukraine government procured 6,000 units of this FPV.

Future USMC drone operations

The Archer procurement and deployment are part of a broader effort to prepare and equip marines for tomorrow’s warfare.

Under this approach, the branch established the Marine Corps Attack Drone Team (MCADT) in January 2025 to accelerate the integration of FPV and one-way attack drones through training and experimentation. The unit is also responsible for directing inputs to sUAS and counter-sUAS requirements.

This month, the service implemented the Marine Corps Robotics Integration Group to integrate, standardise and institutionalise training for Group 1 and Group 2 sUAS and counter-sUAS.

In the “First to Fight” strategy published in March, Gen Eric M Smith, Commandant of the USMC, claimed that drones are and will be “key variables” on the battlefield.

“The Marine Corps must rapidly integrate robots and autonomous systems into its operations to enhance its capabilities and improve its competitiveness in the future operating environment,” Smith remarked.

Concurrently, the most recent version of the USMC Force Design from October 2025 identified uncrewed solutions as one of the principal capability areas being fielded alongside precision fires, resilient C2, advanced mobility and data-driven decision-making. The document stated that drones are force multipliers and can increase survivability and reduce risk to marines while extending operational reach and enabling deployments inside denied environments.

Having this as a concept of operations has been reflected in procurement efforts in recent years.

“Fourteen months ago, we had no attack drones fielded in the Fleet Marine Force,” Maj Miguel Ramirez, operations officer for Weapons Training Battalion and officer in charge of the Marine Corps Attack Drone Team, claimed during the press conference. “Today we have several thousand and, in the coming months, with leveraging the DDP, we will have even more.”

Shephard’s Farnborough International Airshow coverage is sponsored by MBDA

Related Programmes in Defence Insight

Purpose Built Attritable System (PBAS) [US]

FPV Drones (Ukraine Aid) [US]

First-Person View (FPV) UAV [USMC]

Related Equipment in Defence Insight

Archer