US Marines practice seizing remote islands in Philippine exercise

Key Points:

• During Exercise Balikatan 2026 in the Philippines, the U.S. Marine Corps' 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment (3rd MLR) operated across 17 locations, demonstrating its capability for dispersed, expeditionary operations in contested littoral environments.
• The 3rd MLR, based in Hawaii and established in 2022, includes three key elements: the 3rd Littoral Combat Team equipped with Naval Strike Missiles and attack drones, the 3rd Littoral Anti-Air Battalion with air defense systems, and the 3rd Littoral Logistics Battalion to sustain operations.
• The regiment conducted maritime key terrain security operations by deploying NMESIS missile launchers to multiple Philippine islands in the Luzon Strait, enhancing strategic control over critical maritime passages near Taiwan.
• The exercise also featured the Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS), which practiced counter-drone operations, allowing crews to refine tactics and live-fire capabilities in a realistic environment not available in their Hawaii base.
• The 3rd MLR, alongside its counterpart in Okinawa, Japan, represents a modernized Marine Corps unit focused on multi-domain operations and close collaboration with regional allies to maintain readiness and effectiveness in the Asia-Pacific region.