Photo By Lance Cpl. Samantha Devine | A U. S. Marine Corps AH-1Z Viper helicopter assigned to Marine Light Attack Helicopter...... read more read more
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PACIFIC OCEAN — U.S. Marines with Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron (HMLA) 267, Marine Aircraft Group 39, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, executed a precision strike using the AGM-179 Joint Air-to-Ground Missile (JAGM) during Exercise Steel Knight 25, Dec. 11, 2025, demonstrating the wing’s ability to project lethal effects from distributed maritime locations. Steel Knight is an annual exercise that strengthens the Navy–Marine Corps team’s ability to respond forward, integrate across domains and sustain Marine Air-Ground Task Force readiness.
During the evolution, H-1 aircraft refueled and rearmed at a forward arming and refueling point on San Clemente Island, California, before launching to engage designated targets off the coast of Southern California. Following the strike, the aircraft returned to the island to reset and prepare for follow-on missions, demonstrating the ability to generate repeat combat sorties from a forward node.
“This training supports Steel Knight and distributed aviation operations by allowing us to evaluate tactics, techniques and procedures we don’t get to practice every day,” said Capt. Austin White, an AH-1Z Viper pilot and future operations officer with HMLA-267. “We set up at a FARP, bringing Marines forward, bringing aircraft forward, bringing ordnance forward — everything we need to survive on an island campaign for an extended period of time.”
Operating from San Clemente Island enabled Marines to rehearse how aviation units would fight forward in a real-world scenario. By refueling, arming and launching from an austere island location, 3rd MAW demonstrated its ability to project combat power past the shoreline without relying on established airfields.
“The JAGM improves precision fires from H-1s in support of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force,” White said. “It gives us an improved capability to target higher-level threats as adversaries develop more countermeasures and countertactics, allowing us to engage targets and achieve effects on the first attempt.”
The JAGM fundamentally changes what H-1 aircraft bring to the fight. By replacing the legacy Hellfire seeker with a dual-mode guidance system, the missile allows H-1 aircrews to defeat countermeasures and engage targets that would otherwise be inaccessible in contested environments. It gives Marines the ability to deliver precise effects at range while remaining mobile and survivable in a maritime environment.
As the Aviation Combat Element for I Marine Expeditionary Force, 3rd MAW demonstrated how the employment of JAGM enhances the H-1’s strike capability and contributes directly to the MAGTF’s lethal effects. Designed with dual-mode guidance, the precision-guided missile allows aircrews to engage stationary and moving targets with increased accuracy and flexibility, extending the platform’s reach and lethality across the battlespace.
“During Steel Knight 25 we are supporting the ability to come out to secure an island for follow on troops,” said Sgt. Eric Lyons, an aviation ordnance technician and quality assurance safety observer with HMLA-267. “We are pushing out H-1s to clear the area of operations, allowing ground force Marines to come in behind and set up forward operations.”
This capability directly supports joint force operations by providing responsive fires in support of maritime and littoral maneuver. As part of the broader Steel Knight framework, the JAGM shoot reinforced how Marine aviation integrates with naval and joint partners to contribute to sea denial and long-range strike operations. “Long range precision fires are integral to the future maritime fight,” White said. “In order to be effective on the battlefield H-1s need to keep pushing the envelope on where we are able to employ on targets. As the enemy gets more capable, we must match that to keep our crews survivable and lethal.”
The JAGM employment at San Clemente Island underscored 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing’s role as the ready Aviation Combat Element for I Marine Expeditionary Force. By combining expeditionary sustainment with advanced weapons systems, the wing continues to refine its ability to fight forward, complicate adversary targeting and deliver decisive combat power in support of the joint force.
“This training highlights our ability to support high-tempo operations,” Lyons said. “We are always ready. Our motto at HMLA-267 is “Anytime, Anywhere” and we live by that every day. We proved it by coming out to the islands and supporting the Steel Knight mission.”
| Date Taken: | 12.12.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 12.12.2025 18:01 |
| Story ID: | 554091 |
| Location: | CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 51 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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