Re-thinking Marine Armor
Abstract
The ongoing process of Marine armor divestment is incorrectly rooted in the limitations of past platform capability, method of employment, and force-structure. Allowing self-imposed limitations of thought define our future course prevents a necessary and fundamental re-evaluation of how armor can provide nested value to the Marine Corps future fight. Conceptual changes outlined in the CPG combined with the inherent uncertainty of current peer competition require the systematic divesture of the M1A1, the development of a new platform with rebalanced capabilities to match concept and environment driven requirements, and a force-structure that is conducive to adaptations in the function, role, and employment of expeditionary armor. Accepting the surrender of some current M1A1 capabilities, a relatively light-weight platform employed in a more dispersed manner could offer resilient and responsive combat power by expanding the contributions of network-protected close-in fire support through the use of modular weapons components, integrated and open-architecture protection systems, and platform-launched multi-purpose UAS. This redefined expeditionary armor platform could adapt the concepts of mobile protected firepower to effectively support both emerging concepts and the unplanned actions required for global prevention and deterrence.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 09, 2020
- Accession Number
- AD1177724
Entities
People
- Zachary D Johnson
Organizations
- Marine Corps University