U.S. Marine Drone Detachment in the Philippines Operating from Palawan Airfield - USNI News
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MANILA, Philippines — A U.S. Marine Corps drone detachment is operating from a Philippine airfield in Palawan near South China Sea flashpoints in the Spratly Islands, USNI News has learned.  From the airfield, Washington can potentially support Manila with more intensive intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions of Chinese forces operating off the Philippines.  Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron 1 (VMU-1) is operating out of Antonio Bautista Air Base, according to a logistics document reviewed by USNI News. An expeditionary hangar recently appeared on commercial open source satellite imagery posted on Apple Maps. The hangar is the same make of one

MANILA, Philippines — A U.S. Marine Corps drone detachment is operating from a Philippine airfield in Palawan near South China Sea flashpoints in the Spratly Islands, USNI News has learned. From the airfield, Washington can potentially support Manila with more intensive intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions of Chinese forces operating off the Philippines. Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron 1 (VMU-1) is operating out of Antonio Bautista Air Base, according to a logistics document reviewed by USNI News. An expeditionary hangar recently appeared on commercial open source satellite imagery posted on Apple Maps. The hangar is the same make of one

Sea area: South China Sea · Region: Pacific Ocean
Country: Philippines
Actor: U.S. Marine Corps (navy)
Event: drone/missile
Category: Naval activity
Theatre: China seas & Taiwan
Source: USNI News · 28 Oct 2026