The U.S. Marine Corps formally re-designated 1st Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment as its first medium-range missile battalion on Oct. 9, 2026, at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, replacing its artillery mission with a ground-based anti-ship missile capability under the service’s Force Design 2030 plan.
The battalion, part of 2nd Marine Division, will operate the Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS), which pairs a launcher carrying two Naval Strike Missiles with an uncrewed, remotely operated vehicle built on a Joint Light Tactical Vehicle chassis. The Naval Strike Missile has an effective range of more than 130 nautical miles (240 km) and can target surface ships and fixed ground targets, according to the Marine Corps.
“The Medium-Range Missile Battalion employs the NMESIS,” said Lt. Col. Joseph Mozzi, the battalion’s commanding officer. “[The NMESIS] is the Marine Corps’ emerging ground based anti-ship missile capability, and it will also be a ground based long-range precision fires platform.”
The system first went to the 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment in Hawaii in 2024. The Marine Corps tested it during Large Scale Exercise 2021, firing a Naval Strike Missile off the coast of Hawaii at a target ship, and Marines have since deployed NMESIS to the Philippines during Balikatan exercises near the Luzon Strait, according to Defence Blog.
The re-designation follows the Commandant’s Planning Guidance and aligns with the Marine Corps Force Design 2030 modernization effort. The battalion is part of the service-retained force, giving the commanding general of II Marine Expeditionary Force and the wider Marine Corps flexibility for crisis response.
“The requirement for the Marine Corps to have a land-based capability to conduct sea denial was identified as a crucial step to facilitate the maritime component commanders to fight for sea control,” said Mozzi.
10th Marine Regiment will retain M777 lightweight howitzers in another battalion. Col. William Soucie, the regiment’s commander, said NMESIS complements rather than replaces cannon artillery.
“Projecting combat power ashore from the sea is historically what [Marines] do,” said Soucie. “What we will be able to do with [the NMESIS] is shoot in support of not only maneuver that’s already ashore, we will also be able to shoot in support of maneuver at sea.”
Soucie said the Marines and sailors in the battalion remain the same people who served in it as an artillery unit. “While the transition of the weapons platform is interesting, what makes the story compelling is that the Marines and Sailors in that formation are not changing,” he said.
The 2nd Marine Division described the re-designation as the start of a broader modernization of artillery battalions across the Marine Corps, with 1st Battalion, 10th Marines now the first unit to carry the medium-range missile battalion title.
Sources: DVIDS News · Defence Blog