The greatest celebrity at Modern Day Marine is, as always, Chesty, the official Marine Corps mascot. He is a good boy, yes he is. (Ashley Roque/Breaking Defense)
MODERN DAY MARINE 2024 — For years, the annual Modern Day Marine conference was held down in Quantico, in a series of tents and, inevitably, a rain storm. A few years ago, however, organizers moved up to the Washington Convention Center in downtown DC, turning the event into something more like a traditional defense conference.
Which doesn’t mean that the show has lost its Marine flavor. Over three days, Marines hitting the show floor were treated to simulated gun ranges, large ground vehicles, small boats, robotic dogs, real dogs and speeches from top Marine leaders.
Below is a collection of just some of the sights from the 2024 edition of Modern Day Marine.
All the major defense firms – and plenty of smaller ones – showed up to advertise to the Marine Corps at the annual Modern Day Marine conference in Washington. (Aaron Mehta/Breaking Defense)
Out in the field, being able to communicate is vital. Among a number of satcom systems on display was the Airbus Ranger series. (Aaron Mehta/Breaking Defense)
Israel Aerospace Industries showed off a number of unmanned systems at Modern Day Marine 2024, including its ROC-X hand-launched, electro-optical VTOL missile. (Aaron Mehta/Breaking Defense)
Saab showed off its collection of anti-tank weapons during Modern Day Marine 2024. On display was the AT4. NLAW and Carl-Gustaf, as well as munitions. (Aaron Mehta/Breaking Defense)
While high-technology is often the focus at defense conferences, Modern Day Marine includes contractors selling the more prosaic aspects of Marine life. (Aaron Mehta/Breaking Defense)
Not a sign you see at every conference in DC. There were several virtual shooting ranges set up on the show floor. (Aaron Mehta/Breaking Defense)
At this point, pictures of robot dogs from defense conferences are almost mandatory. Here is one from Darley Defense, seen on the show floor of Modern Day Marine 2024. (Aaron Mehta/Breaking Defense)
Textron Systems’ Cottonmouth advanced reconnaissance vehicle claims a land speed of 65 MPH and a swim speed over 5 knots. (Aaron Mehta/Breaking Defense)
Oshkosh Defense showed off an unmanned air defense solution on the Modern Day Marine 2024 show floor. (Aaron Mehta/Breaking Defense)
There was a heavy unmanned systems presence on the show floor at Modern Day Marine 2024. The Kamen Kargo unmanned supply vehicle claims a range of 500 nautical miles with up to 800 pounds of payload. (Aaron Mehta/Breaking Defense)
The Leonardo DRS Radar Deployable System is seen both in model and full-size on the Modern Day Marine 2024 show floor. (Aaron Mehta/Breaking Defense)
