Marines and soldiers exchange information on how to defend their airspace in an increasingly complex and threatening battlespace.

For the first time, Marines from Marine Air Support Squadron 3, Marine Air Control Group 38, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing at Camp Pendleton, California, hosted the Army’s Artillery Fire Control Officer Course, according to a press release.

The three-week course, held in July, focused on the role of these fire control officers in the Army’s MIM-104 Patriot surface-to-air missile system.

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In recent years, several senior Army leaders have pointed to the high – and growing – demand for air defense units during overseas deployments and exercises. The Army will hire hundreds of new air defense specialists in the coming years, Army Times previously reported.

The Marine Corps has restructured its forces and established Marine regiments for the coastal forces, which include coastal defense battalions equipped with more modern radars and the Medium Range Intercept Capability (MRIC), a short- and medium-range air defense system.

“The coastal defense battalions will integrate MRIC, the first organic surface-to-air missile system since the divestment of HAWK in the 1990s,” said Captain Gabriel Smith, an air defense officer with Marine Air Support Squadron 3.

The need for air defense has become clear this year alone after a unilateral attack on Tower 22, an outpost on the Syrian-Jordanian border, killed three U.S. soldiers and wounded dozens more in January.

Just recently, on August 9, eight US soldiers were injured in a drone attack on the Rumalyn landing zone in Syria.

The Army course at Pendleton gave the Marines the opportunity to learn how to integrate the Patriot system or similar systems into their air defense network.

“What the Marines have gained from this course is the ability to bring that knowledge into our units and train the Marines in Army air defense capabilities,” said Maj. John Christensen, MASS-3 operations officer.

The Patriot missile system can track up to 100 targets at a range of almost 160 kilometers and defend an area of ​​14 to 20 kilometers, according to a report by the Congressional Research Services.

The MRIC system has a range of up to 40 miles and can accommodate 20 missiles. The number of targets the system can track is not listed in publicly available government data.

Although Patriot and MRIC are different systems, their capabilities overlap enough that the training also applies to Marines, especially when serving as sector air defense commanders. In these positions, Marines must evaluate a variety of options or tools to detect and defeat air threats.

“As the Marine Corps seeks to integrate its own organic system, it is important that we align with the joint services on procedures, training, tactics and techniques to optimally and effectively employ this system,” Smith said.

The collaboration extends beyond the Army and Marine Corps. The Air National Guard hosted the course in May at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington, the press release said.

“The importance of this training to the joint force and the Marine Corps cannot be overstated,” said Lt. Col. Tyrone Anub Jr., MASS-3 commander. “Every missile must count – and every second counts.”