The U.S. Marine Corps is putting together a new, mobile air-defense weapon system that’s mounted on a Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) and could be armed with lasers to bring down enemy threats from above. Marine Lt. Gen. Robert Walsh, deputy commandant for combat development and integration, talked about the laser weapon called Ground Based Air Defense Future Weapon System at a hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee’s subcommittee on sea power. Air defense is a key priority for the Corps as well as the Army, and lawmakers say neither service should be tackling this problem alone. Walsh says the Marine Corps has been focused on countering threats from unmanned aerial systems but is starting to shift focus to longer-range threats, such as aircraft and cruise missiles.
