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QUANTICO, Va. - For Marines running roadblocks and vehicle check
points, identifying an oncoming vehicle as a threat is a decision
that has to happen quickly and at standoff range because lives are
on the line. A new system being fielded to II and III Marine
Expeditionary Forces, Reserve Units and Marine Corps Forces Central
Command will give Marines more certainty when distinguishing friend
or foe.
The Non-Lethal/Tube Launched Munition System is a
vehicle-mounted 40mm grenade launcher, which has a digital fire
control and can shoot between one and 30 non-lethal rounds,
depending upon the need. The rounds, which contain four flash-bang
submunitions and fire from three banks of 10 launchers set for
distances up to 100 meters, are visible out to 600 meters. The
ammunition is an “all-up round,” meaning there is no assembly or
disassembly required.
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Marines with II Marine Expeditionary Force practice loading and
unloading inert rounds into the Non-Lethal, Tube-Launched Munitions
System during their practical application training at Camp Lejeune,
North Carolina, Aug. 14, 2014. Marine Corps Systems Command Optics
and Non-Lethal Systems is fielding the system that sends non-lethal
munitions out as far as 500 meters and uses an audible bang to deter
a crowd or a person with mal-intent. Its intended use is for
military checkpoints. (Photo by Lance Cpl. Justin Updegraff)
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“Marines require something to be able to hail and warn
from a distance” said Anita Tate, non-lethal team lead for
NL/TLMS for Marine Corps Systems Command's Infantry Weapons
Systems. “What we have is a very safe, very easy-to-use
system that will allow Marines guarding military checkpoints
to better determine the intent of an approaching vehicle.”
Tate and the rest of the non-lethal team from MCSC are
responsible for the acquisition and sustainment of the
NL/TLMS.
The system is made to be mounted onto the
turrets of Marine vehicles — Mine Resistant Ambush Protected
vehicles and Humvees — or on ground tripods. On vehicle
turrets, the NL/TLMS is mounted just to the left of the
turret's main weapon to allow for quick change between
systems.
Every second matters, according to Tate.
“These decisions are so quick,” she said. “In the past,
that's where uncertainty has made a difference: You have to
protect yourself and your fellow Marines, but you don't want
to open fire on an unarmed vehicle. There's a lot of
pressure. This system allows you to make that decision
quickly and with a clear conscience.”
Relieving that
pressure is part of why non-lethal systems are so important
to the military, according to Kelley Hughes, spokesperson
for the Department of Defense Non-Lethal Weapons Program.
"Non-lethal weapons are designed and employed to achieve
military objectives while minimizing human casualties or
damage to property and equipment," Hughes said. "Non-lethal
weapons can also help clarify intent of an adversary," she
added.
During a train-the-trainer event aboard Marine
Corps Base Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, North Carolina,
Marines had the opportunity to learn about the NL/TLMS.
After a morning in the classroom, Marines got to fire
flash-bang rounds from the system.
“I was pretty
excited, we haven't had much hands-on with it,” said 1st Lt.
Adam Flannery. “It made a lot of noise and some pretty big
bangs.”
As a part of the 2nd Law Enforcement
Battalion, Flannery might make different use of the NL/TLMS.
“It will be pretty useful in crowd dispersal or riot
control,” he said. “It definitely expands our non-lethal
capability.”
Also from 2nd LEB, 1st Lt. Josh Schubert
appreciated how intuitive it was to operate the system.
“It's very user friendly,” he said. “It's electric and
has a remote control that looks like a video game controller
— black plastic with red and yellow buttons on it. Pretty
much every Marine who took the short course was able to step
right up and use it without much problem.”
Flannery
and Schubert were both interested in the possibility of
other non-lethal munitions but were happy about the
capability Marines were gaining.
“It extends the
range of our non-lethal systems,” Schubert said. “We can get
a lot of non-lethal munitions downrange in the event of a
disturbance.”
Fielding of the NL/TLMS to Marine units
in the continental United States should be completed in
early winter.
By U.S. Marine Corps Carden Hedelt
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2014
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