The Marine Corps established its first dedicated medium range missile battalion this month, placing the powerful Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System at the center of the new formation. The move gives Marines a specialized unit focused on mobile coastal defense and attacks against enemy ships.

The service officially redesignated 1st Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division from an artillery unit into the Marine Corps’ first medium range missile battalion. The redesignation ceremony took place at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

The change comes as the Marine Corps modernizes its force structure and prepares for possible conflicts involving peer or near-peer adversaries. In those potential fights, coastal defense and the ability to challenge hostile ships could play a major role.

Lt. Col. Joseph Mozzi, the battalion’s commanding officer, explained the operational requirement behind the new formation in the Marine Corps’ announcement. He tied the battalion’s mission directly to the service’s ability to support commanders fighting for control at sea.

“The requirement for the Marine Corps to have a land-based capability to conduct sea denial was identified as a crucial step to facilitate the maritime component commanders to fight for sea control,” Mozzi said.

The first of its kind battalion will be built around the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System, commonly called NMESIS. The platform supplies Marines with a ground based weapon designed to threaten ships while operating from land.

Mozzi described NMESIS as “the Marine Corps’ emerging ground-based anti-ship missile capability, and it will also be a ground-based long-range precision fires platform.” That dual description places attacks against ships and precision fires among the system’s central functions.

NMESIS is mounted on a Joint Light Tactical Vehicle base and operated remotely. The weapons platform can carry and fire two Naval Strike Missiles, giving Marines a mobile system rather than a weapon fixed permanently in one location.

The missiles can strike targets more than 100 miles away. When paired with the rest of the NMESIS system, they allow Marines to establish powerful, mobile coastal defense capabilities for use against enemy ships.

The new battalion is the first Marine Corps battalion dedicated to the medium range missile mission, but NMESIS has already reached other Marine formations. The 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment, 3rd Marine Division received the platform in 2024, although it did not receive it at the battalion level.

This year, the 12th Marine Littoral Regiment in Okinawa, Japan, was also given NMESIS. That regiment received the missile system alongside the Marine Air Defense Integrated Systems, known as MADIS.

The Marine Corps has also deployed NMESIS during training exercises in the Pacific. Those deployments included drills conducted in the Philippines, providing Marines opportunities to employ the system during regional training.

The redesignation of 1st Battalion and its shift away from its previous artillery role are part of the wider Marine Corps Force Design 2030 plan. That effort calls for major changes to how the service organizes and arms its forces.

Among its planned changes, Force Design 2030 calls for expanding Marine Corps elements positioned forward and increasing capabilities against ships. The goal described in the source material is to strengthen deterrence against coastal attacks while reshaping the force for possible modern conflict.

The conversion does not mean the 10th Marine Regiment is abandoning conventional artillery. According to the Marine Corps, the regiment will continue operating howitzers through another battalion.

The regiment’s commander said in the announcement that the new battalion centered on NMESIS will complement existing artillery capabilities rather than replace them. That leaves the regiment with traditional howitzers while adding a dedicated formation equipped for mobile sea denial and long range precision fires.