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U.S. Marines To Expand Precision Strike Power with Advanced Rogue 1 Loitering Munitions.
The U.S. Marine Corps has ordered more than 600 Rogue 1 loitering munition systems under a 42.5 million USD OPF L contract with Teledyne FLIR Defense. The procurement gives small units their own precision strike option, reinforcing the Corps shift toward dispersed, highly responsive fires.
On December 5, 2025, Teledyne FLIR Defense announced that the U.S. Marine Corps had awarded the company a 42.5 million USD contract under the Organic Precision Fires-Light (OPF-L) program. This new delivery order covers more than 600 Rogue 1 loitering munition systems and their associated support equipment, giving rifle squads and platoons a precision strike tool they can employ independently. The decision reflects the growing importance of loitering munitions in modern conflicts, where small tactical units must be able to engage targets beyond line of sight. By investing in OPF-L at scale, the Marine Corps is reinforcing its shift toward more autonomous, responsive fires at the lowest echelon. The contract also confirms Teledyne FLIR’s position as a key supplier of integrated sensing and strike solutions to U.S. forces.
The U.S. Marine Corps has begun fielding Rogue 1 loitering munitions, giving small units a lightweight precision strike option they can launch and control on their own (Picture Source: Army Recognition / Teledyne FLIR Defense)
Placed by Marine Corps Systems Command as Delivery Order 3 under the OPF-L program, the contract covers the supply of more than 600 Rogue 1 systems, ground control stations and training kits, with fielding to Marine units scheduled to begin in the summer following the award. OPF-L is conceived as a man-portable capability that places an “organic, loitering, precision strike” asset directly in the hands of rifle squads and platoons, reducing reliance on artillery, close air support or higher-tier unmanned platforms. In practical terms, a small unit equipped with Rogue 1 can launch a system within minutes, use its onboard sensors to search for a target beyond terrain features or urban cover, decide whether to engage, and either deliver the strike or recover the air vehicle if no valid target is found. This immediate control over the full cycle from detection to engagement is central to the operational value of the program.
Rogue 1 is a compact loitering munition designed for precision engagements against a broad spectrum of targets, including armored and soft-skinned vehicles as well as dismounted personnel. The system accepts modular, mission-specific payloads, allowing Marines to tailor effects to the type of target they expect to encounter before launch. A key feature is its advanced fuzing architecture, which enables operators to safely abort an attack and bring the aircraft back when conditions change or a target is lost, turning Rogue 1 from a pure expendable into a reusable asset. This reusability has direct tactical and logistical consequences: a patrol can deploy the same air vehicle across several sorties, reducing the number of munitions that must be carried while preserving the ability to conduct multiple engagements during a mission.
The munition’s effectiveness is closely linked to its sensing and targeting suite, which brings together electro-optical cameras and a FLIR Boson 640+ thermal imager in a stabilized gimballed payload that couples the sensors to the warhead. This configuration supports long-range day and night reconnaissance, giving operators the ability to detect, identify and track vehicles or personnel in degraded visual conditions such as low light, smoke or adverse weather. Once a target is confirmed, the same gimbal maintains a precise aim point up to impact, supporting accurate terminal guidance. Rogue 1 can also be employed strictly as an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance asset when required: the drone can be launched to observe an area of interest, stream video back to the control station, and then be recovered if no engagement is authorized, preserving the system for future missions.
At the strategic and operational levels, the OPF-L program and the fielding of Rogue 1 fit into a broader trend of making ground forces more agile, dispersed and resilient inside contested environments. By equipping small units with an organic precision strike capability, the Marine Corps increases its capacity to hold adversary assets at risk without systematically exposing manned aircraft or relying on long-range artillery chains. Loitering munitions like Rogue 1, which can loiter, observe, strike or disengage, respond to lessons drawn from recent conflicts where the ability of small units to generate their own fires has proved critical. The prospect of numerous dispersed squads each carrying their own precision attack asset also complicates an opponent’s planning, forcing them to consider that high-value systems may be threatened not only by major platforms but also by small, mobile teams difficult to detect and target.
Teledyne FLIR Defense’s award marks its first production-rate contract in the loitering munition space, after a 2024 test and evaluation phase. Traditionally known for thermal imaging and unmanned systems across air, land, and sea, the Rogue 1 contract signals a shift toward weaponized unmanned systems delivered at scale. It shows how advanced sensors, semi-autonomous platforms, and precise effects are coming together as forces move toward integrated solutions rather than separate payloads and carriers. While the deal’s monetary value is modest within Teledyne Technologies’ portfolio, its strategic impact is meaningful: Rogue 1 becomes part of the U.S. Marine Corps’ force structure, paving the way for follow-on orders, upgrades, and, subject to export rules, potential interest from allies seeking similar organic precision-fire capabilities.
This contract formalizes the arrival of loitering munitions as standard equipment for frontline units rather than experimental tools, and the Marine Corps’ decision to equip squads and platoons with Rogue 1 makes that evolution tangible. By combining a reusable precision effector with high-performance electro-optical and thermal sensors in a man-portable package, the OPF-L program offers Marines a new way to detect, track and neutralize threats at tactical level, while providing commanders with more flexible options for employing fires under contested conditions. For Teledyne FLIR Defense, the move from evaluation to full-rate production in this domain confirms that its solutions are now integrated into U.S. modernization pathways and positions the company to play a lasting role in future iterations of organic precision fires, both within the Marine Corps and potentially among partner nations seeking similar capabilities.
Written by Teoman S. Nicanci – Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Teoman S. Nicanci holds degrees in Political Science, Comparative and International Politics, and International Relations and Diplomacy from leading Belgian universities, with research focused on Russian strategic behavior, defense technology, and modern warfare. He is a defense analyst at Army Recognition, specializing in the global defense industry, military armament, and emerging defense technologies.