As it nears a decision to purchase a new amphibious combat vehicle, the Marine Corps has not given up hope of procuring a personnel carrier that can speed over water as part of a modernization effort that would bring the service in line with sister services in establishing a multi-domain combat presence.
“I just came back from Japan where I met with engineers from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries on a vehicle that they are looking at – it kind of takes our expeditionary fighting vehicle where we left off with that program and looks at the potential to gain high water speed,” Lt. Gen. Brian Beaudreault, deputy commandant for plans, policies and operations, said Jan. 10 at the Surface Navy Association’s annual conference outside Washington, D.C. “The Japanese are very interested in that kind of capability, as well. I think they have a ways to go, as we do, but it’s encouraging to know that others are working on the same problem.”
The Marine Corps’ plan to buy an expeditionary fighting vehicle with a high-water speed petered out when it became apparent all of the desired speed and survivability requirements were prohibitively expensive and perhaps beyond current engineering.
After more than a decade and a half of land warfare, the Marine Corps is again finding its sea legs and addressing its capability gaps in that domain, which led to the Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV) program that is scheduled for a downselect this summer. BAE Systems and SAIC [SAIC] are vying for the award.
To prepare Marines for future combat in the Pacific and elsewhere, Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. Robert Neller is looking at everything from how the individual Marine is equipped head-to-toe to deploying rocket artillery aboard ships in an effort to add lethality to the naval surface force, Beaudreault said.
Marines recently tested firing a high mobility rocket artillery system (HIMARS) off the deck of a flat-top amphibious ship as an effort to add lethal force to the fleet while en route to a combat zone. Beaudreault said the test was proof positive that Marines can contribute to a fight instead of simply being ferried to and from by the Navy.
“I am encouraged by the direction the Navy-Marine Corps team is moving in terms of fires,” he said. “When we stood down the battleships years ago, we always thought there was a paucity, inadequate naval fire support. We recognize the challenges that are coming our way. … additional fires. “
“With HIMARS, it’s a proven capability – we can do it,” he added.
The Marine Corps is looking for capability gaps outside its traditional role as an “expeditionary force in readiness” and forcible entry, Beaudreault said. So far, there are few gaps for it to fill, he said. As a relatively small land force attached to the Navy, it is looking to gain cost efficiency by following the Army in its efforts to establish cross-domain capabilities. The Army is pioneering land-to-sea and surface-to-surface capabilities – like the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) – that it could buy into if proven effective, he said.
“We want to stay partnered with the Army in terms of their development. They’ve got ATACMS. I’m not sure which direction the Marine Corps is going to go in terms of exactly what new systems will come down the pike,” Beaudreault said. “But we’re keenly interested in what the Army is doing and that’s not to say we wouldn’t be smart about procuring what the Army procures for cost and efficiency of scale.”
“Having an understanding of what others are working on, what niche capabilities might the Marine Corps, in our unique sense, fill in a gap that may exist that someone else isn’t addressing,” he added. “Right now we haven’t been able to determine … if there is a gap.”