The Marine Corps has broadly rolled out FPV attack drones
The Corps reportedly fielded more than 3,500 FPV attack drones by May, while official releases show the Neros Archer in training or use across infantry, reconnaissance, and littoral formations. The public record supports a broad rollout, though not a complete unit-by-unit tally.
In December 2025, the Marine Corps set a May 2026 target for infantry battalions, reconnaissance battalions, and littoral combat teams to be equipped to use first-person-view (FPV) attack drones. The plan established six initial courses and eight certifications, delivered through seven organizations, with Weapons Training Battalion at Quantico responsible for common curricula, certification standards, and safety rules.
Public evidence now suggests that the rollout was largely achieved, or at least well advanced, by the deadline. On 1 May, Marine Corps Times reported that the service had fielded more than 3,500 FPV attack drones, quoting the commanding officer of Weapons Training Battalion. Later that month, an official Marine Corps release described the Neros Archer as the most common FPV system in Marine Corps infantry.
Official releases also place the Neros Archer across the formation types named in the original target. Marines from 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, under the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, took part in an FPV drone course on 5 May. The 12th Littoral Combat Team trained on the system on 7 May, 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion flew it on 22 May, and 3rd Littoral Combat Team conducted live-fire training with attack drones in the Philippines on 14–15 June.
Together, these sources support a broad rollout across infantry, reconnaissance, and littoral combat formations. They do not provide a complete unit-by-unit list, so they cannot verify that every formation met the May target. The remaining question is the degree of completion, not whether the rollout moved beyond a pilot programme.