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Hmm I wonder what happened.
(https://news.usni.org/2020/03/23/new-marine-corps-cuts-will-slash-all-tanks-many-heavy-weapons-as-focus-shifts-to-lighter-littoral-forces)
>The Marine Corps will soon lay out its path to achieve a 2030 force optimized for conflict with China in the littorals – a force that will completely divest of its tanks and slash most of its artillery cannon battalions, instead focusing on developing light mobility options to get around island chains with the assistance of unmanned systems and mobile anti-ship missiles.
The service has been working on this new vision since Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. David Berger took command last summer, and Berger is likely to release the full plan soon.
>“The Marine Corps is not optimized to meet the demands of the National Defense Strategy. In the summer of 2019, the Marine Corps began force design activities focused on adapting capabilities to properly shape the Marine Corps’ contributions to naval warfare and the joint force. These planning efforts led to a modernized design which incorporates emerging technologies and significant changes in force structure to deliver a Marine Corps the nation needs by 2030,” Maj. Joshua Benson, a spokesman for the Marine Corps Combat Development Command, told USNI News in a statement.
The heaviest cuts, Benson said, come to aviation and heavy ground units.
>“By the year 2030, the Marine Corps will see complete divestments of Law Enforcement Battalions, Tank Battalions and associated Military Occupational Specialties (MOS), and all Bridging Companies. Additionally, the Corps will reduce the number of infantry battalions from 24 to 21; artillery cannon batteries from 21 to 5; amphibious vehicle companies from 6 to 4; and reduce tilt rotor, attack, and heavy lift squadrons,” he said.
The service will also trim its F-35B and C Joint Strike Fighter squadrons, reducing them from 16 Primary Aircraft Authorized (PAA) to 10 per squadron.
