US Marines

The US Army and US Marine Corps are fielding two different night vision systems that provide better depth perception and add thermal imaging to image intensification technology that will give soldiers clearer night vision even when dealing with overgrown areas.

A year and a half after accepting the first prototypes, the US Marine Corps has awarded BAE Systems and its partner Iveco Defence Vehicles a US$198 million contract to deliver the first 30 of the Corps' next-generation Amphibious Combat Vehicles (ACV).

An Autonomous Aerial Cargo Utility System (AACUS)-enabled UH-1H helicopter has autonomously delivered 520 lb (236 kg) of water, gasoline, MREs, communications gear, and a cooler capable of carrying urgent supplies such as blood to US Marines in the field.

Aurora Flight Sciences has successfully demonstrated an autonomous flight system that can be retrofitted to existing helicopters. A US Marine Corps UH-1H​ AACUS-enabled helicopter demonstrated its autonomous flight and operational capabilities​ by executing a series of re-supply missions.

BAE Systems has unveiled the first of 16 Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV) 1.1​ prototypes it is developing for the US Marine Corps. The vehicle is a fully amphibious, ship-launchable and ship-recoverable 8x8 wheeled armored troop carrier.

Hypoxia is regarded as the biggest safety concern of the US fixed-wing air fleets, and now a new system for monitoring pilot breathing and collecting in-flight data on hypoxia incidents is being developed.

The Sikorsky CH-53K King Stallion helicopter has flexed its muscles, lifting a 27,000-lb (12,245-kg) payload at Sikorsky's Development Flight Test Center in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Last October, Sikorsky's CH-53K King Stallion heavy lift helicopter made its maiden flight. That marked the start of a three-year, 2,000-hour test program that has continued with the aircraft making its first external load flight test carrying 20,000 lb.

The next generation of US Marine Corp helicopters took to the air recently with the successful maiden flight of Sikorsky's CH-53K King Stallion heavy lift helicopter at the company's West Palm Beach, Florida Development Flight Center.

Lockheed Martin has revealed a new Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV) 1.1 that can carry up to 13 marines over land or water and incorporates intuitive automatic systems into the design.

The US Marine Corps has declared the F-35B Lightning II operational. Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121 (VMFA-121) is now officially cleared for worldwide deployment after a five-day Operational Readiness Inspection.

At Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia last week, the golf course was turned into a battlefield thanks to the Office of Naval Research's (ONR) Augmented Immersive Team Trainer (AITT), which made the action visible only to participants wearing special glasses.