New in 2021: Why the Corps may see fewer M777s next year

In 2020 the Marine Corps released its Force Design 2030 plan in hopes of transforming the Marine Corps for a future fight against China.

Part of the plan calls for a massive reduction in the number of M777 tube artillery batteries in favor of more High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS.

The Corps currently has 21 active duty M777 batteries and plans to reduce that number to five, essentially a reinforced battalion worth of artillery by 2030.

In its place the Corps will see a “300 percent increase in rocket artillery capacity,” a brief about the force design changes said.

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The Corps hopes to eventually have a rocket system capable of sinking ships. The increased firepower is meant to force enemy ships to stay in port, while allowing the U.S. Navy to operate freely in any future battlefield.

The Corps hopes to have 36 Joint Light Tactical Vehicles capable of firing a Naval Strike Missile by 2022.

The Marine Corps is currently in the experimental phase of force design and is still unsure exactly which batteries will be switched over to rockets, Teresa Ovalle, a spokeswoman for Marine Corps Combat Development and Integration told Marine Corps Times.

“A decision of the future composition of Marine artillery is pending the outcome of ongoing Phase III force design planning,” she said.

This is an excerpt from “21 Things Marines Need To Know For 2021,” in the January print edition of Marine Corps Times.

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