After some delays to the original schedule, USMC 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment (3rd MLR), 3rd Marine Division, has received the first Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System, also known as NMESIS.

The weapon system, for the first time operational on the field after a long series of testing, will be the ‘spearhead’ of the USMC anti-ship capabilities. Focused on a potential conflict in the Pacific theater, the ground-based system is able to rapidly deploy and establish a coastal and littoral defense on islands across the Pacific. NMESIS uses the Naval Strike Missile (NSM), capable of hitting maritime targets 120 miles away (200 km), creating an A2/AD (Anti-Access/Area Denial) bubble to prevent any enemy ship approaching a specific area or interdicting the enemy sea lines of communication (SLOC).

The most revolutionary aspect of the NMESIS is that it is designed to be operated remotely. The 2 low-observable NSM missile launchers are mounted on an uncrewed Joint Light Tactical Vehicles (JLTV) platform. This allows the Marines to control the vehicles and fire the missiles from a different location, being protected in case the launchers are identified and in turn be targeted.

As highlighted by the 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment Commander, Col. John G. Lehane, the NMESIS task is simple, “attack enemy maritime targets”, and in this way, “support and integrate with the Marine Air-Ground Task Force, the Fleet, the Joint Force and our Allies.” The NMESIS will be operated by the 3rd MLR Medium-Range Missile Battery, based in Oahu, Hawaii. However, the Corps plans to field the weapon system in any MLRs throughout the Pacific. Those units and NMESIS itself are among the defining symbols of the revolutionary Force Design, the USMC plan to modernize its units to face the current and future threats from adversaries such as China, and other potential adversaries. In accordance with it, in 2021, the Corps announced the procurement of 14 NMESIS batteries, composed of 18 launchers each.

In response to the USMC NMESIS fielding, the US Army showed the rapid deployment of M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) into the Aleutian Islands duringa recent exercises in Alaska.

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