The perfect illustration of the Marine Corps two tier air fleet.

The above flight of AH-1Zs, UH-1Ys and CH-53Es shows what I call the 2nd tier air fleet of the US Marine Corps.  The MV-22 is too fast to be escorted by our attack helicopter, flies to fast to be incorporated into air ops with its legacy cousins and is an outlier.

Which brings up the burning issue in procurement.  What are we building our air arm to do?  If its to support the Marine on the ground then we've over shot the mark by a large margin.  If its to integrate with the USAF in the deep strike role then we're spot on.  If its to marry up with Navy Air then we're out in la-la land.

The quickest way to lose a capability is for it to cost too much, have it not do what its intended to do, and finally to duplicate capabilities found elsewhere---especially if that elsewhere is the USAF and they have a greater knowledge and appreciation for the deep fight.

The Marine Corps will go on.  Marine Aviation might not.