In a move that fundamentally alters the firepower dynamics of the standard infantry squad, the U.S. Marine Corps has awarded defense technology company Anduril a $23.9 million contract to supply Bolt-M loitering munitions. This procurement, part of the Marine Corps’ Organic Precision Fires-Light (OPF-L) program, will deliver more than 600 of these man-packable, precision-strike drone systems directly to dismounted rifle squads beginning in early 2026.
For decades, a Marine rifle squad’s lethality was strictly dictated by line-of-sight weapons: the M16, the M249 SAW, and the M203 grenade launcher. If an enemy was entrenched behind a ridge or fortified inside a structure, the squad had to rely on calling in external artillery, mortars, or close air support—assets that take time to arrive and are not always guaranteed. The Bolt-M system completely changes this paradigm. It provides the squad leader with an organic, beyond-line-of-sight strike capability that can be deployed in minutes from a standard rucksack.
The Bolt-M is a vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) drone that does not require a complex launcher or runway. Once deployed by a Marine, the munition can loiter over the battlefield, utilizing Anduril’s Lattice software and advanced sensors to scout terrain, identify targets, and relay real-time video feeds back to the operator. Upon identifying a high-value target—such as a light armored vehicle, a heavy machine gun nest, or a sniper position—the operator can command the Bolt-M to execute a kinetic strike, diving into the target and detonating its payload.
Anduril secured the contract following 13 months of rigorous environmental and safety testing, during which the Bolt-M proved its endurance and payload capacity across hundreds of flights. The company has aggressively scaled its manufacturing operations, preparing to sustain a production rate of over 175 systems per month across all Bolt variants. This industrial capacity is crucial for the Marine Corps, which envisions these munitions becoming consumable assets, expended routinely in combat much like an anti-tank rocket or a hand grenade.
The system’s integration into the Marine Corps arsenal reflects the broader Department of Defense strategy to counter near-peer adversaries in the Indo-Pacific. In island-hopping scenarios where heavy artillery cannot be easily transported, giving a small, fast-moving element the ability to strike precision targets autonomously is a tactical necessity. The fielding of the Bolt-M represents a massive leap in decentralized combat power, but forces infantry Marines to master not only marksmanship, but the intricacies of drone piloting.
The Bolt-M contract proves that the traditional definition of a rifle squad is obsolete. The rifle is no longer the sole arbiter of a squad's lethality; it is now the defensive tool used to protect the drone operator. Reports from Ukraine already showed us this reality, and the USMC OPF-L program is institutionalizing it. For the broader tactical community, this means training must evolve. If your tactics stop at marksmanship and CQB, you are entirely unprepared for a battlefield where the deadliest weapon in the squad is a kamikaze quadcopter.