The U.S. Marine Corps’ 12th Littoral Combat Team (LCT) will field the first forward deployed NMESIS unmanned anti-ship battery. The 12th LCT is the third and final subordinate element of the 12th Marine Littoral Regiment based out of Camp Hansen, Okinawa (Japan), and it’s part of a growing Marine Corps force dedicated to delivering medium to long-range area denial capabilities to the First Island Chain.
A designation ceremony at Camp Hansen, Okinawa, marked the induction of the 12th Marine Littoral Regiment’s final subordinate unit, led by Lt. Col. Jacob Godby. Godby took command of the 12th LCT in December 2024 and assumed formal command in February 2025.
12th LCT is the latest U.S. Marine Corps force to transition to a littoral-oriented force, following a trend of Indo-Pacific reorientations under the Corps’ Force Design 2030 vision. For 12th LCT, it means reorienting the legacy of 1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment into a reinforced infantry battalion with an attached unmanned anti-ship missile battery.
The anti-ship missile battery will consist of 18 NMESIS unmanned ground vehicles separated into two platoons. NMESIS is built off the Remotely Operated Ground Unit for Expeditionary (ROGUE) Fires multirole chassis capable of launching two RGM-184A Naval Strike Missiles each.
U.S. Marine Corps Colonel Peter Eltringham, commanding officer of the 12th Marine Littoral Regiment, explained the added capability 12th LCT and NMESIS will bring to the force during the redesignation ceremony in a media statement.
“We bring this combat power to Okinawa to be able to deliver it in the eyes of our adversaries and ensure we can bring it to the decisive point on the battlefield. We do this alongside our Japanese ground, air, and maritime Self-Defense Force partners, because there is nothing more powerful than this alliance in this theater.”
U.S. Marine Corps Colonel Peter Eltringham
12th LCT has not received its NMESIS launchers yet according to officials familiar with the matter. When it does, it will mirror the structure of 3d LCT, 3d MLR based out of Oahu, Hawaii. 12th LCT will receive the first delivery of launchers in a similar ceremony to the one held in November 2024 for 3d LCT.
The 12th MLR also operates four HIMARS batteries with the 3d Battalion, capable of launching the MLRS Family of Munitions (MFOM), including the Lockheed Martin Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) which has proven its ability as an anti-ship missile in a U.S. Army test.
