The U.S. Marine Corps has expanded its inventory of short-range air defense systems by ordering ten additional Tempest counter-unmanned aerial vehicle platforms. Under a $19 million contract awarded to Vertex Modernization and Sustainment, an Indianapolis-based subsidiary of defense contractor V2X, the deal covers the vehicles alongside software, spare parts, training, and ongoing support through August 2027.
The Tempest platform is constructed on a modified commercial Can-Am Maverick X3 off-road buggy, utilizing civilian components to reduce manufacturing costs and streamline maintenance logistics. As reported by Inside Unmanned Systems, the vehicle was publicly introduced at the Association of the United States Army conference in October 2025 and features a commercial chassis retrofitted with a sensor suite and dual missile launchers.
Designed to engage Class 2 and Class 3 unmanned aircraft systems, the vehicle utilizes radar-guided AGM-114L Longbow Hellfire missiles originally built for Apache attack helicopters. At least two Tempest units are deployed in Ukraine, where local air defense forces have credited the system with intercepting 21 Shahed strike drones. This operational history provides the U.S. Marine Corps with a platform tested in active combat conditions rather than solely in field evaluation environments. The indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract structure allows the total procurement value to scale beyond the initial $19 million allocation as support and integration needs progress.
