The Pentagon Is Trying to Figure Out Which Drones to Buy. The Marines Just Put a Bunch to the Test.

The Pentagon is trying to figure out which drones to buy. The Marines just put a bunch to the test.

TKUS Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Sawyer CarletonUS Marines completed an exercise testing out different small uncrewed aerial vehicles last month.The event evaluated drones on performance, weather resilience, setup time, ease of use, and overall functionality.US military personnel have been learning drone warfare, exposing growing pains and challenges.Marines tested and evaluated commercial drone tech in California recently, running them thr…

Marines Test Drone Systems

SEPTEMBER 9, 2025 — Marines with I Marine Expeditionary Force partnered with the Defense Innovation Unit and industry leaders during Phase 2 of the DIU’s G.I. Challenge, Aug. 18-29, 2025, to evaluate commercial small unmanned aircraft systems in realistic operational environments. The 12-day event brought together Marines from 1st Marine Division—including operators, leaders and subject matter experts—to test vendor-loaned systems across multipl…

Marines test drone systems in Defense Innovation Unit challenge

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. — Marines with I Marine Expeditionary Force partnered with the Defense Innovation Unit and industry leaders during Phase 2 of the DIU’s G.I. Challenge, Aug. 18-29, 2025, to evaluate commercial small unmanned aircraft systems in realistic operational environments.