Large amphibious ships for the USMC jeopardized by FD2030

 via Breaking Defense.

General Berger’s initial planning guidance as commandant ended that long-time rationale. It argued that large amphibious ships were too vulnerable and too expensive: “We must continue to seek the affordable and plentiful at the expense of the exquisite and few.” In highlighted text, the guidance announced: “We will no longer use a ‘2.0 MEB requirement’ as the foundation for our arguments regarding amphibious shipbuilding. We will no longer reference the 38-ship requirement.”

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  If large amphibious ships were too expensive and too vulnerable and the Marine Corps believed that the future lay in small amphibious ships, then the Pentagon should limit the building of large amphibious ships.

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 The Navy came to the same conclusion. The Navy’s FY 2023 shipbuilding plan showed a target of 24 to 28 large amphibious ships, which meant that, when previously funded amphibious ships were considered, no amphibious ships would be needed for several years.

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 The controversy would die down if the Marine Corps offered a strong wartime rationale for 31 large amphibious ships. However, it continues its wartime emphasis on small units under FD 2030. The latest FD 2030 update does cite the need for 31 large amphibious ships but is vague about why, saying it’s: “[to] coordinate their actions directly with stand-in forces to control maritime terrain.” The Marine Corps has provided a calculation for their goal of 35 Landing ships Medium (nine for each of the three Marine Littoral Regiments and eight more for maintenance and other unavailability). Yet, there is no proposed calculation for arriving at 31 amphibious ships as there had been for the earlier amphibious ship goal of 34.

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