Why The U.S. Marine Corps Needs A Larger Amphibious Warfare Fleet (From 19FortyFive)

The Corps is restructuring itself in order to generate what it describes as “stand-in forces” (SIF) that can operate within range of prospective adversaries’ weapons. This force would consist of small, lethal formations equipped to counter modern power projection forces, particularly in the Indo-Pacific. At the same time, The Marines remain committed to being this Nation’s 9-1-1 force, ready to conduct a wide range of missions from large-scale humanitarian operations to amphibious landings. To adequately address both new and traditional missions, the Marine Corps will need a larger fleet of amphibious warfare vessels. This will consist of dozens of new smaller and lighter vessels to deploy and support the stand-in force complementing a modernized fleet of large, sophisticated ships capable of carrying significant numbers of Marines, heavy equipment and even aircraft. I have written more about this topic here.