The Aviationist
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The U.S Marine Corps has deployed its newly fielded anti-drone Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) for this year’s Balikatan 2025 exercise in the Philippines, where it will undergo its second live-fire training, a press release from the 3rd Marine Division said. MADIS will figure during the Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) event, which is one of the six Combined Joint All-Domain Operations events scheduled throughout the exercise, and will be operated as a Ground-Based Air Defense (GBAD) battery by the 3rd Littoral Anti-Air Battalion (LAAB).
While this is the maiden use of MADIS in an exercise like Balikatan 25 since it was fielded in Dec. 2024, its first live-fire event was held in Jan. 2025, when the 3rd LAAB used it at the Pohakuloa Training Area (PTA) on Hawaii’s Big Island.
The statement about the deployment of the 3rd MLR to the Philippines for Balikatan 25 said the MADIS supports a broader effort to enhance the Philippines Marine Corps’ “coastal defense strategy,” where the 3rd LAAB demonstrates the ability “to find, fix, track, target, engage, and assess aerial targets while partnering with the PMC.”
This iteration of the Balikatan bilateral exercise between the U.S. and the Philippines is being held from Apr. 21 to May 9, 2025, seeing the participation of about 9,000 American and 5,000 Philippine military personnel, with nearly all types of aerial, land, naval, amphibious tactical and strategic platforms.
