“Over the past 11 years of combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, some lessons learned painfully, there has been a growing appreciation and a demand for, on the part of the warfighter, the unique skills and capabilities that MPs [military police] bring to the fight,” according to Maj. Jan Durham, commander of the 1st Law Enforcement Battalion at Camp Pendleton, Calif.
In the air, in addition to the F-35 – replacing a variety of legacy aircraft, including AV-8B Harrier jump-jets and F/A-18 Hornet fighters – the Corps continued aviation fleet modernization efforts with the new KC-130J Super Hercules, the MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor, the CH-53E Super Stallion, and the new UH-1Y Venom and AH-1Z Viper helicopters.
All are part of the Marine Aviation Plan’s “phased multi-year approach to modernization,” which encompasses aircraft transitions, readiness, inventory shortfalls, manpower challenges, safety, and fiscal requirements through the next two decades and beyond. That also reflects the recent Marine Corps Force Structure Review effort to develop what Amos calls a “purpose-built” Corps that is smaller, “but in many ways more capable,” than it was on 9/11.
Two F-35Bs fly in formation, Aug. 22, 2012. The JSF program is accelerating after earlier difficulties. Lockheed Martin photo by Andy Wolfe
As the air combat element, the multi-platform fleet is tasked to support the MAGTF, the Corps’ primary warfighting structure, in six primary functions: assault support, anti-aircraft warfare, offensive air support, electronic warfare, control of aircraft and missiles, and aerial reconnaissance, with organic troop transport and close air support considered the most critical capabilities.
While the impact of budget cuts on modernization plans is yet to be fully determined, 2012 saw continued work on a number of future platforms considered vital to the Marines’ ability to fully respond to whatever force-projection missions arise. Moving from a land war back to sea-basing also means shedding the weight of heavily armored platforms, such as the mine-resistant ambush protected (MRAP) vehicles rushed to Southwest Asia in response to a Marine Corps urgent need, to meet the limitations of Navy ships.
A prime example is a replacement for the 40-year-old assault amphibious vehicle (AAV), according to Kevin McConnell, deputy director of the USMC Capabilities Development Directorate’s Fires and Maneuver Integration Division.
“Without a doubt, a replacement for our current amphibious assault vehicle is our top ground priority. The AAV is a key enabler of ship-to-objective or forcible entry operations from the sea,” he said. “Its replacement has to be a very seaworthy vehicle, account for new technology and, for operations ashore, where we spend most of our time, be highly mobile and have increased protection over what the current vehicle has, particularly against mines and IEDs [improvised explosive devices].
“We’ve spent the better part of two years making sure we understand those factors, drawing on lessons learned from the [canceled] Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle and ongoing ops to make sure we can do all we need to do. And I’ll tell you now, you can’t have an MRAP-level protected vehicle that also is shipboard transportable. So you have to make some very careful trades. With one of the new vehicles – the Amphibious Combat Vehicle [ACV] – that means providing protection that makes sense, given the mission it has.”
Even without sequestration, tight budgets will make it impossible to procure everything the Marines need simultaneously – not only the ACV, but also a new Marine Personnel Carrier (MPC), predominantly a land vehicle with amphibious requirements limited to rivers and lakes.
An artist’s conception of a notional Amphibious Combat Vehicle that would replace the aging assault amphibious vehicle in the Marine Corps service. PEO LS image
“We will continue to work those so, in the next 20 years, we will be able to field the ACV and a complementary MPC that, combined, will provide the required lift for our infantry,” McConnell said, adding actual procurement will be sequenced, with the ACV taking precedence due to its unique military capabilities.
“Nobody else possesses it,” he noted. “It provides us with a very specialized way of gaining access around the world. So as part of a naval force, it is a key enabler to America’s access wherever we need to have it.”
The Marine Corps is combining lessons learned about IEDs and other insurgent-level weapons and tactics with the possibility of even more deadly chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear (CBRN) threats in the future. Budget restrictions aside, those involve Corps-specific requirements related to the need to move quickly from ship to shore in small, highly mobile units using smaller and lighter transport vehicles than the Army and without weighing down individual warfighters with protective gear.