Philippines —
U.S. Marines with Air Command and Control Detachment, Marine Rotational Force – Southeast Asia, I Marine Expeditionary Force, tested the mobility of the AN/TPS-80 Ground/Air Task-Oriented Radar during training in the Philippines, Aug. 17, 2026, evaluating how the capability can improve command and control and support fires integration in the archipelagic environment.
The training occurred as MRF-SEA continues supporting the Philippine Marine Corps’ Archipelagic Coastal Defense Concept through the Archipelagic Coastal Defense Continuum. ACDC provides recurring opportunities for U.S. and Philippine forces to develop capabilities in areas including fires, command and control, maritime domain awareness and unmanned systems.
For the AC2 Det, supporting that effort also means testing and refining the systems Marines bring to the fight.
The TPS-80 is a medium range radar that provides 360-degree surveillance. It provides a mobile surveillance capability that can support an integrated air and missile defense system, support control of friendly aviation assets, and provide targeting data to adjacent assets. During the training, Marines evaluated the mobility, set up, and stowage of the equipment.
“Every time we can take slack out of the process, we make ourselves more capable and better partner,” said 1st Lt. Arturo Perez, an air command and control officer and the officer in charge of AC2 Det. “The TPS-80 is a useful asset that allows us to command and control the airspace alongside our Philippine Allies and other partner nations.”
The testing focused on the movement of the asset and getting it situated while in a distributed environment.
“We were able to validate our ability to rapidly displace and set up with a limited number of personnel and to better understand how the system could support operations in a distributed environment. The goal is to understand what this capability can provide, identify its limitations and determine how we can best integrate it into future training.”
– Sgt. Jacob Herbert, a tactical data systems technician and the non-commissioned officer in charge of AC2 Det
Testing capabilities before introducing them into more complex bilateral events allows MRF-SEA to be better prepared to integrate with its Philippine counterparts. Rather than using bilateral training to first determine whether a system works, Marines can focus that time on refining interoperability, integrating fires and learning how U.S. and Philippine capabilities complement one another.
That process supports the broader purpose of ACDC – continuously learning, testing and refining capabilities that strengthen each force individually while improving their ability to operate together.
MRF-SEA serves as I MEF’s forward command element in the Philippines, supporting Task Force-Philippines and integrating with the Armed Forces of the Philippines to strengthen interoperability and improve combined readiness.
By Cpl Ryan Ramsammy | Marine Rotational Force – Southeast Asia
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