USMC Seeks to Jettison Some Weapons Platforms to Invest in Mobility, High Tech
Posted on June 1, 2021 by John M. Doyle, Seapower Correspondent
ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Marine Corps plans to shrink its force and divest itself of heavy weapons platforms such as tanks and towed artillery to pay for new investments in cyber space, artificial intelligence and high mobility, according to new budget documents and briefings.
The Department of the Navy, including the Marine Corps, is seeking $211.7 billion from Congress in its fiscal 2022 budget request. The Marines would get $47.98 billion, an increase of 6% over their 2021’s enacted budget, “with real growth in their operational, maintenance and procurement accounts,” Adm. John Gubleton, the deputy assistant secretary of the Navy for budget, told a Pentagon briefing at the Defense Department budget rollout May 28.
Overall, the Navy “realigned tens of billions of dollars towards higher priority programs and divested of legacy capabilities,” Gubleton said. For the Marine Corps those divestments include the Corps’ Abrams main battle tanks and towed artillery, to pay in part for a lighter, swifter widely dispersed force with the right skills for future challenges such as distributed operations, crisis response, and electronic, information and cyber warfare, according to budget documents.
https://seapowermagazine.org/usmc-seeks-to-jettison-some-weapons-platforms-to-invest-in-mobility-high-tech/
