A SOCOM commander said U.S. forces in Syria faced aggressive electronic attack.
A small group of Marines with Task Force Southwest now have MQ-9 Reaper support organic to the unit.
In comparison, the Air Force just recently awarded its first five "R" devices in July.
Congress cut more than half the funding for the MUX drone.
The Senate approved $100 million for the MUX drone in its version of the defense bill in June.
The MUX could be one of the deadliest hunter-killer drones in the sky.
The U.S. military is amid a major shift in pushing cyber, automation, robotics and drone aircraft.
Arming the Ospreys with forward-firing rockets would be a stopgap measure until the Corps fields a new futuristic sea drone.
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