U.S. Marines Use M110 Sniper Rifles to Neutralize Explosive Threats in Japan.

U.S. Marines used M110 Semi Automatic Sniper System (SASS) rifles during Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) training at Camp Fuji, Japan, to conduct Stand off Munitions Disruption (SMUD) against explosive hazards. The exercise highlights a specialized capability that helps forward-deployed EOD teams neutralize dangerous munitions from a safer distance.

The three-day training sequence, held June 23 to 25 and highlighted by the Marine Corps on July 15, 2026, involved EOD technicians from Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron, Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, and Marine Wing Support Squadron 171, Marine Aircraft Group 12, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing. Activities included improvised explosive device response, demolition operations, MICLIC rocket motor disposal, thermite preparations, drone examination, road clearance, and precision SMUD engagements using the 7.62 mm M110. Official imagery confirms the rifle was employed as an EOD tool rather than in its conventional sniper role.

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U.S. Marine EOD teams fire M110 sniper rifles during Stand-off Munitions Disruption training at Camp Fuji, Japan, on June 24, 2026. (Picture source: US DoD)

The imagery published by the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service provides more detail than the Marine Corps social media post. On June 23, the teams disassembled a Mine Clearing Line Charge (MICLIC) rocket motor during a demolition range that included the static firing of a five-inch rocket motor. The following day, Marines prepared thermite grenades and time fuses, conducted a night call, and examined a downed small unmanned aerial system during an IED scenario. On June 25, they swept a road with a compact metal detector, prepared grenades as disruption targets, and fired the M110. The official captions do not identify the drone type or state that it carried a live explosive payload.

Marine Corps Tactical Publication 10-10D defines SMUD as aimed single shots fired from a service weapon against individual unexploded ordnance targets from a standoff distance. An earlier official Marine Corps account of the procedure at Camp Hansen explained that the objective is to damage a munition so it does not function as designed, potentially producing a lower-order reaction and reducing the remaining explosive hazard. The procedure can also support faster clearance when an area contains multiple unexploded items. Marine Corps doctrine places SMUD within EOD operations, although official imagery shows that reconnaissance personnel and other attached service members have also participated in SMUD ranges conducted with EOD teams.

The M110 is a 7.62 mm semi-automatic precision rifle. The U.S. Army describes the system as bringing semi-automatic capability to sniper teams, while the Marine Corps has identified it as an anti-personnel and light-materiel weapon. At Camp Fuji, however, its targets consisted of explosive items prepared for controlled training. Its role was to place deliberate shots on a munition from a safe distance before EOD technicians approached the hazard.

This application of the M110 is established rather than new. Marine EOD and reconnaissance personnel conducted comparable SMUD training at Camp Schwab in 2016, Camp Hansen in 2020 and 2024, and again on Okinawa in April 2026. The relevance of the Camp Fuji event therefore lies in the continued use of the technique by forward-deployed aviation support units and in the unresolved question of which precision rifle will perform the mission in the future.

U.S. Marine Corps GySgt. Dakota Hulsey explains how Marines use M110 sniper rifles for Stand-off Munitions Disruption (SMUD) training at Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Japan, on April 1, 2026. (Picture source: US DoD)

In November 2023, Marine Corps Systems Command personnel evaluated the Mk22 Mod 0 Advanced Sniper Rifle (ASR) during a SMUD test at Twentynine Palms. The official record states that data were collected from the Special Application Scoped Rifle, the M110 SASS, and the Mk22 against several high-explosive-filled ordnance items. The event was explicitly presented as an assessment of the Mk22 as a potential M110 replacement within the EOD community.

The Mk22 is a bolt-action system with a ten-round magazine, a 7-35x optic, and interchangeable 7.62 mm, .300 Norma Magnum, and .338 Norma Magnum configurations. It reached full operational capability in November 2024 for Marine infantry and reconnaissance units and their training schools. The Marine Corps’ confirmed Mk22 fielding program replaced the M40A6 and Mk13 Mod 7 rifles in infantry and reconnaissance units. A separate 2023 assessment examined the Mk22 as a potential successor to the M110 for EOD missions, but the official sources reviewed do not confirm a subsequent EOD fielding decision.

The official Marine Corps sources reviewed for this article do not confirm that EOD units have adopted the Mk22 following the 2023 assessment. The Camp Fuji photographs establish only that the Iwakuni and MWSS-171 teams continue to train with the M110. They do not indicate whether the Mk22 remains under evaluation, was rejected for the role, or is planned for later distribution. Presenting the exercise as evidence of a completed transition would therefore exceed the available documentation.

The unit context nonetheless gives the exercise operational relevance. The 1st Marine Aircraft Wing is the aviation combat element of III Marine Expeditionary Force and provides naval and expeditionary aviation forces within the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command area. In 2022, III MEF stated that EOD Marines conducting jungle training on Okinawa were preparing to support Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations where regular logistical support might not be available. Camp Fuji adds documented practice in dense vegetation, IED response and standoff disruption, but the release identifies no Japanese participation and describes no bilateral combat scenario. It instead shows how forward-deployed Marine EOD teams maintain a specialized clearance capability while the future place of the Mk22 in that mission remains publicly unconfirmed.

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Written By Erwan Halna du Fretay - Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Erwan Halna du Fretay holds a Master’s degree in International Relations and has experience studying conflicts and global arms transfers. His research interests lie in Security and strategic studies, particularly the dynamics of the defense industry, the evolution of military technologies, and the strategic transformation of armed forces.