U.S. Marines Order 10 Tempest Counter-UAS Vehicles in $19 Million Deal
The U.S. Marine Corps has ordered 10 Tempest counter-UAS vehicles from Vertex Modernization and Sustainment under a $19.06 million contract announced by the Pentagon on August 11, 2026.
The hybrid contract covers the vehicles, software management, spare parts, ancillary equipment, training and support services, with work running through August 10, 2027 at Vertex's Indianapolis, Indiana facility. Vertex operates as part of defense contractor V2X.
Tempest is built on a modified Can-Am Maverick X3 off-road platform and, as publicly demonstrated, carries dual launchers for radar-guided AGM-114L Longbow Hellfire missiles. V2X says the vehicle is designed to detect, engage and defeat Class 2 and Class 3 unmanned aircraft systems — the segment spanning small tactical drones up to systems approaching the size of a small manned aircraft — and to reposition rapidly after firing to reduce crew exposure.
V2X first unveiled Tempest at the Association of the United States Army's annual conference in October 2025, pitching it as an affordable, easily maintained answer to the wave of small attack drones that have become a defining threat on modern battlefields. The vehicle is built largely from commercial components rather than custom military hardware, keeping costs down and simplifying maintenance.
The award gives the Marine Corps a system with an active combat record: at least two Tempest vehicles are already operating in Ukraine, where the Ukrainian Air Force has credited them with destroying 21 Shahed drones since entering service. The purchase moves Tempest from industry demonstration toward operational fielding, adding a mobile kinetic layer to the service's short-range air-defense inventory alongside MADIS, Stinger teams and electronic-warfare systems.
The agreement is structured as an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract, meaning the $19.06 million figure represents the initial order rather than a ceiling on what the Marine Corps might eventually spend on Tempest vehicles and support.