The US Department of Defense has awarded Vertex Modernization and Sustainment a $19-million contract to supply Tempest counter-unmanned aerial system buggies for the US Marine Corps.
The US Department of Defense has awarded Vertex Modernization and Sustainment a $19-million contract to supply Tempest counter-unmanned aerial system (C-UAS) buggies for the US Marine Corps.
The deal requests the Indiana-based company deliver 10 off-road vehicles alongside software management, spare parts, and training services.
While demonstrated publicly carrying the AGM-114L Longbow Hellfire guided missiles, the notice did not specify which interceptor the military will integrate.
Work will be facilitated in Indianapolis through August 2027, with progress to be coordinated with Marine Corps Program Manager Ground Based Air Defense, which holds oversight of the contract.
Sources project that the 10-vehicle buy serves as an initial tranche for the Marine Corps' Denied Area Sprinter-Hellfire or DASH program, which outlined plans for the adoption of up to 50 systems as the force expands its broader organic air defense capabilities.
Mobile C-UAS Asset
The Tempest is built by Vertex’ parent defense contractor V2X on a modified Can-Am Maverick X3 commercial buggy chassis.
The lightweight, four-wheel-drive platform pairs dual missile launchers with a frame-mounted radar suite.
It detects, tracks, and destroys Class 2 and 3 drones, or those weighing between 21 and 1,320 pounds (6 and 599 kilograms), with speeds of more than 250 knots (288 miles/463 kilometers), and an operating altitude of over 18,000 feet (5,486 meters).
The vehicle's two-missile ready load delivers a high-value strike capability tailored to protect mobile maneuver forces from incoming aerial threats.
Tempests in Ukraine
The Tempest procurement arrives as the system demonstrates real-world combat effectiveness overseas, particularly in the war in Ukraine.
At least two Tempest vehicles operating in the country have been credited by the Ukrainian Air Force with destroying 21 Russian-operated Shahed attack drones.
