Modernized Marine Corps Strategy Emphasizes Agility, Removes Main Battle Tank

Video Above: The Role of Javelin Missiles in the Russia-Ukraine Conflict

By Kris Osborn – President & Editor-In-Chief, Warrior Maven

Would a smaller, faster, more agile yet extremely lethal Marine Corps armed with long-range precision weapons and high-speed networking perform more successfully in modern war than a heavier mechanized force with more Marines, helicopters and tanks?

Could fast-maneuvering Marines use lethal anti-armor weapons, dispersed formations and a large number of networked unmanned systems to exact an effective battlefield effect upon a larger mechanized armored force? Is that even preferable to a larger force armed with tanks, heavy helicopters and larger numbers of Marines?

The Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. David Berger told Congress that the answer to this question is a simple yes.

Marine Corps new Force Design 2030 Strategy

While armor and lethal firepower will not fully disappear from the Corps in the future, the Marine Corps new Force Design 2030 strategy document calls for a large-scale decrease in force size and a substantial reduction in large armored platforms and heavy helicopters, among other things. The new Corps strategy will completely remove the main battle tank from the service.

In recent remarks before Congress, Berger made specific reference to Ukraine and the way in which a dispersed, fast-moving, dismounted force armed with effective anti-armor weapons has had great success against a larger mechanized Russian Force.