US Marines Trial Mobile Radar System in Philippines to Bolster Archipelagic Defence

US Marines Trial Mobile Radar System in Philippines to Bolster Archipelagic Defence

Image: US Marines ©

US Marines have tested the mobility of the AN/TPS-80 Ground/Air Task-Oriented Radar during training in the Philippines, evaluating how the system can strengthen command and control across the archipelago. The exercise, conducted on 27 August 2026 by the Air Command and Control Detachment, Marine Rotational Force – Southeast Asia, forms part of continued US support for the Philippine Marine Corps’ Archipelagic Coastal Defense Concept.

The training took place under the Archipelagic Coastal Defense Continuum, which gives US and Philippine forces recurring chances to build capability in fires, command and control, maritime domain awareness and unmanned systems.

The TPS-80 is a medium-range radar offering 360-degree surveillance. It can support an integrated air and missile defence system, control friendly aviation assets, and provide targeting data to nearby units. Marines assessed the radar’s mobility, set-up procedures and stowage during the exercise, focusing on how quickly it could be relocated and made operational with limited personnel.

1st Lt. Arturo Perez, officer in charge of the detachment, commented that removing inefficiencies from the process makes the unit a more capable partner. He added that the TPS-80 allows Marines to command and control airspace alongside Philippine and other partner forces.

Sgt. Jacob Herbert, the detachment’s non-commissioned officer in charge, said the trial validated the unit’s ability to rapidly displace and establish the system in a distributed environment, helping identify its limitations ahead of future training.

Testing systems independently allows MRF-SEA to focus future bilateral exercises on interoperability rather than basic functionality, supporting the wider aims of the ACDC as per a recent statement from I Marine Expeditionary Force.

Learn more on the U.S. Marines website

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