Marine Corps Systems Command issued two delivery orders on May 29, 2026, awarding Oshkosh Defense LLC a combined $92,079,801 for Block 2 production of the Remotely Operated Ground Unit for Expeditionary Fires, known as ROGUE-Fires. The two orders — valued at $70,623,709 and $21,456,092 respectively — represent the largest single production award in the ROGUE-Fires program's history, which traces its origins to an initial contract in 2022. Work will be completed by September 2028 and is funded with fiscal year 2025 and fiscal year 2026 Marine Corps appropriations, with Order 1 drawing on procurement funds and Order 2 on research, development, test, and evaluation funds. The contract is structured as a hybrid firm-fixed-price and cost-plus-fixed-fee arrangement and was awarded as a sole source action under 10 U.S.C. § 3403(c), reflecting the unique integration between the platform, launcher, and autonomy stack that no other vendor could replicate without substantial re-engineering of an already operationally tested and partially fielded system.
What ROGUE-Fires Block 2 Delivers
ROGUE-Fires is the U.S. military's first semi-autonomous ground system designed for both offensive and defensive fires missions. The platform is built on a Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, or JLTV, chassis and carries the Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System, known as NMESIS — a land-based anti-ship missile system capable of firing the Naval Strike Missile at maritime targets in contested littoral environments. The combination of a JLTV-based vehicle and a precision anti-ship launcher on a single unmanned platform gives Marine commanders a fires asset that does not require a fixed shore position or a crew at the point of launch, reducing both the signature and the risk to personnel.
Block 2 represents a significant capability step beyond the initial configuration. Where earlier production units relied on existing autonomy technology, Block 2 integrates Forterra's next-generation AutoDrive autonomy platform as a core system component. AutoDrive is engineered to operate in GPS-denied and GPS-contested environments — a critical operational requirement given the electronic warfare conditions the Marine Corps anticipates in future high-end conflict. The system can maneuver autonomously to firing positions, execute rapid repositioning after a missile launch to avoid counter-battery fire, and sustain operations without continuous operator input, materially reducing the crew exposure and logistical footprint associated with conventional towed or crewed fires assets.
The Marine Corps intends the platform to support two complementary operational concepts. Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations, or EABO, calls for small, dispersed Marine units to hold key maritime terrain with minimal fixed infrastructure by using highly mobile and survivable ground-based fires. Distributed long-range precision fires requires ground-launched missiles to engage surface combatants at extended ranges to deny adversary freedom of maneuver in contested waters. ROGUE-Fires addresses both requirements by providing a mobile, low-signature fires platform that can reposition rapidly between shots without requiring a permanent forward installation or shore-based fire control facility.
The program office at Marine Corps Systems Command in Quantico will manage delivery and acceptance testing through the September 2028 completion deadline.
Autonomy Technology and the Forterra Partnership
The inclusion of Forterra as the autonomy subcontractor gives Block 2 its most distinctive capability advance. Forterra, headquartered in Clarksburg, Maryland, developed AutoDrive as a purpose-built autonomy stack for military ground vehicles rather than an adaptation of commercial software. The system is designed from the outset to handle degraded communications, electronic jamming, and off-road terrain environments that are not adequately represented in commercial autonomous-vehicle training data. Forterra has engineered the platform to meet military reliability, survivability, and cybersecurity standards that commercial autonomy systems are not typically required to address.
For the defense autonomy market, the Block 2 award carries particular significance. According to reporting on the contract, it is the U.S. military's first large-scale production contract for ground vehicle autonomy — moving beyond development programs and limited-user test articles into full-scale manufacturing of systems intended for operational fielding across the Marine Corps force structure. The award validates a multi-year investment by both Oshkosh Defense and Forterra in building an autonomy architecture designed specifically for contested operational environments.
The sole-source justification under 10 U.S.C. § 3403(c) reinforces the depth of integration between the three core components — JLTV chassis, NMESIS launcher, and AutoDrive platform. Competitive re-sourcing of any component would require re-certification of the integrated system, delaying the 2030 fielding objective and imposing additional integration risk on a program that has already completed developmental and initial operational testing phases.
Contract Structure and Work Locations
The $92,079,801 total is distributed across two delivery orders rather than a single contract action, The hybrid firm-fixed-price and cost-plus-fixed-fee structure reflects a deliberate split between hardware production — priced at firm rates for the JLTV-based vehicle assembly — and the engineering and software integration work tied to the AutoDrive platform, where a cost-plus-fixed-fee arrangement compensates Forterra for development-adjacent integration activities while capping the fee at a negotiated level.
Work performance is divided across four locations. Oshkosh, Wisconsin, the site of Oshkosh Defense's primary manufacturing facility, accounts for approximately 70 percent of the contract effort by value. Alexandria, Virginia; Gaithersburg, Maryland; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania account for the remaining share, reflecting the geographic footprint of the autonomy engineering and system integration teams involved in Block 2 production. All work is scheduled for completion no later than September 2028.
Contractors
The prime contractor is Oshkosh Defense LLC, the defense subsidiary of Oshkosh Corporation, headquartered in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Oshkosh Defense manufactures the JLTV and has served as the ROGUE-Fires prime integrator since the program's inception in 2022, bringing established vehicle production infrastructure, an existing supply chain, and four years of accumulated program knowledge to Block 2 production.
The named autonomy subcontractor is Forterra, based in Clarksburg, Maryland. Forterra provides the AutoDrive platform that enables GPS-denied and GPS-contested autonomous operation. Marine Corps Systems Command in Quantico, Virginia, is the contracting office of record for both delivery orders comprising the $92,079,801 Block 2 award.
What It Means for Contractors
The sole-source award under 10 U.S.C. § 3403(c) closes the immediate competitive window for ROGUE-Fires Block 2 hardware. Oshkosh Defense LLC holds the integrated program vehicle, and Forterra retains the AutoDrive subcontract. Firms seeking to participate in future ROGUE-Fires work should engage Oshkosh Defense's supplier development team and monitor Marine Corps Systems Command solicitations for follow-on logistics, training, and sustainment task orders as the 261-unit fielding progresses toward its 2030 target. Secondary opportunities exist in ground support equipment, simulation, and depot-level maintenance contracts that typically accompany a new platform reaching initial operational capability.
