Followers of MS&T will recall the US Marine Corps’ focus on elevating its learning (training and education) enterprise in policy and beyond, with increased focused investments in these budget areas. One quickly evolving training system program being eyed for service use is the Marine Corps Training Instrumentation System (MCTIS).

MCTIS is a replacement for the Instrumented Tactical Engagement Simulation System II (ITESS II). This January 25, Morgan Blackstock, Media Chief, Marine Corps Systems Command, Office of Public Affairs & Communication, told MS&T that MCTIS not only meets the Marine Corps’ need for live combat simulation but also provides enhanced capabilities beyond ITESS II such as vehicle instrumentation and a “shoot-through-walls” capability. “We have begun divesting the ITESS II and it will be completely dispositioned by the conclusion of fiscal year 2024,” the command media lead added.

The service was confirmed to be on contract with Saab, Inc. to procure 16 battalion sets that will be fielded across the Marine Corps’ major installations.

MCTIS is in the final stages of its initial testing. Blackstone said the testing will culminate in the command’s support to the Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) Warfighter Exercise (MWX) 2-24, where MARCORSYSCOM will support more than 2,000 Marines with live combat free play instrumentation. The media executive significantly noted, “The testing will lead to an official fielding decision which will allow us to get equipment in the hands of each Marine Expeditionary Force by the third quarter of this fiscal year.” For US DoD bureaucratic purposes, the end of third quarter is this June 30.   

In a nod to training interoperability, MCTIS is derived from Saab’s GAMER system, which is already fielded to several US allies and partners across Europe and in the Pacific, providing instantaneous interoperability with global partners. “MCTIS is also compatible with many legacy training systems, providing Marines the flexibility to work with partners around the world, even if they have not purchased equipment from our contracted supplier,” the command media lead concluded.