The Marine Corps has awarded a $19 million contract for 10 Tempest counter-drone vehicles that are deliberately built to shoot and then leave. The system fires AGM-114L Longbow Hellfire missiles at Class 2 and Class 3 drones, then withdraws while the missiles are still in flight so the crew spends as little time as possible in the kill zone.
A Pentagon contract announcement dated August 11 confirmed the award to Vertex Modernization and Sustainment, a V2X company based in Indianapolis. The deal covers the vehicles plus software, spare parts, training, and support services. Work is scheduled to run through August 10, 2027.
What the Contract Covers
The $19,062,156 hybrid contract is structured as firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed-fee, and cost indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity. The Portfolio Acquisition Executive Marine Corps, Program Manager Ground Based Air Defense in Quantico, Virginia, is the contracting activity. The order falls under the Denied Area Sprinter-Hellfire, or DASH, effort.
Earlier this year, the Marine Corps signaled interest in as many as 50 systems. The August award for 10 vehicles is the first firm order. Delivery of the initial batch will give the service a combat-proven mobile hard-kill option while larger buys are still being refined.
Built to Shoot and Disappear
Tempest starts with a commercial Can-Am Maverick X3 chassis. The off-road buggy is fitted with dual missile launchers and a sensor suite that detects, tracks, and engages drones.
According to a company datasheet, the system is engineered for rapid, low-exposure missions. After launch, the vehicle is designed to leave the area during the missile’s flyout, reducing the time the crew remains a target for follow-on drones or counterfire.
The company lists several design priorities: fire-and-forget operations, dual launchers for flexible engagement profiles, a counter-unmanned aerial system suite effective against Class 2 and Class 3 drones in degraded GPS and communications environments, all-weather performance, and commercial-off-the-shelf components that are easier and cheaper to maintain. Trailer-mounted stationary versions are also available for fixed-site defense.
V2X states that when operators engage targets within the system’s range and constraints, the platform has a near-perfect record of successful single-shot engagements. That claim is backed by operational use. At least two Tempest vehicles have already operated with Ukrainian forces and have been credited with destroying 21 Shahed-type drones.
Fitting Into the Marine Counter-Drone Picture
Tempest arrives as the Marine Corps continues to expand its layered ground-based air defense options. The heavier Marine Air Defense Integrated System, or MADIS, pairs Joint Light Tactical Vehicles with Stinger missiles and a 30mm cannon. The lighter L-MADIS rides on ultra-light tactical vehicles and recently gained a kinetic boost through the addition of the Bullfrog autonomous weapon station that turns an M240 into an AI-assisted drone killer.
Tempest sits in a different niche. It is more mobile than MADIS, carries a longer-reach hard-kill effector than machine-gun solutions, and is optimized for short exposure rather than prolonged on-station defense.
For units operating in distributed formations across the Pacific, that combination of mobility, punch, and the ability to shoot and leave is the practical appeal.
What It Means for Marines
The drone threat has forced every service to rethink how small units protect themselves. Cheap one-way attack drones can force expensive interceptors or force Marines to stay fixed while they try to engage. Tempest offers a different answer: detect, fire Hellfires, and move before the enemy can put effective fires on the launch site.
Because the chassis is commercial, the logistics and maintenance burden is lower than pure military vehicles. Parts are easier to source. The fire-and-forget design reduces the time crews spend exposed. And the system already has a combat record against the exact class of threat Marines are most concerned about.
The first 10 vehicles will not transform the entire force overnight. They will, however, give selected units a proven mobile hard-kill option while the Marine Corps continues to field MADIS, L-MADIS, high-power microwave systems, and organic squad-level counter-drone kits.
For Marines who have watched the drone problem grow from a nuisance into a primary threat, a system that already works in combat and is designed to get them out of the danger area quickly is a practical step forward.
Work under the contract is centered in Indianapolis. Delivery is expected to stretch into 2027. Additional orders remain possible under the indefinite-delivery structure if the initial systems perform as advertised.
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