The War Zone – Pairing Valkyrie drones with F-35B makes perfect sense for future Marine Corps operations, especially in the Pacific.

The War Zone – Marine Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron One will get its first MQ-9s this summer along with a load of new systems and tactics to test.

Breaking Defense – The inclusion of the Medium Landing Ship in the fiscal year 2025 shipbuilding request is a major win for the Marine Corps, which faced significant amphibious shipbuilding cuts last year.

Defense News – The U.S. Marine Corps plans to upgrade systems it already fielded during its Force Design modernization effort, with its fiscal 2025 budget request looking to boost sensing and striking capabilities.

Defense News – The U.S. military will allow its fleet of V-22 Ospreys to fly again, three months after it grounded the entire inventory of more than 400 aircraft following a fatal crash off the coast of Japan in November.

Defense News – The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps will move forward with the existing design of the San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship in fiscal 2025, a top leader said, after the Defense Department last year raised the specter of scaling down the ship’s design or not buying any more at all.

USNI News – The Marine Corps will soon test a prototype logistics supply drone inspired by drug smuggling narco subs.

BBC – Under cover of darkness, a single fighter jet roars as it rips across the deck of the USS Bataan, a vast US assault ship. Moments later, a second jet follows.

War on the Rocks – We are concerned about the quality of thinking, data, analysis, and synthesis that informs the decisions to reorganize the Marine Corps to meet its fundamental statutory obligations. It is because of that concern that we see that Force Design is indeed improving, not diminishing, the effectiveness of the Marine Corps to respond to the crises of today’s and tomorrow’s security environment. The current events impacting modern security challenges are providing empirical evidence to bear that observation out. We anticipate these real-world indicators will positively support the Force Design 2030 decisions when they are included in the congressionally directed report in the coming year.

Defense News – The U.S. Marine Corps is looking more closely at how to leverage alternate ships to keep its forces at sea, amid an amphibious ship shortage a top Marine called the “single biggest existential threat” to the service.

Defense News – New command and control and a separate 30 mm-cannon equipped variant of the Marine Corp’s amphibious combat vehicle are expected to arrive at units in early 2024.

USNI News – The Marine Corps is pushing for as much simplicity as possible for the Navy’s planned Landing Ship Medium, the craft the service wants to haul Marines and material for its three Marine Littoral Regiments, the acting head of the service said on Thursday.

BBC – The US has grounded its entire fleet of V-22 Osprey helicopters after a report said a crash off the coast of Japan last week, which killed eight crewmembers, was due to a malfunction.

War on the Rocks – This October, American and Japanese forces conducted an operationally focused bilateral exercise, rehearsing missions that would have been unthinkable a few short years ago but that now prove vital when deterring Chinese aggression. Resolute Dragon 23.2 not only demonstrated each force’s lethality and interoperability but also strengthened their military partnership in defense of Japan.

Defense News – The Marine Corps is conducting market research into small drone boats as part of a push to boost the service’s reconnaissance capabilities and prepare for conflict near shore.

BBC – A deadly crash off the coast of Japan has once again sparked concerns about the safety of the US military’s V-22 Osprey aircraft.

1945 – Force Design 2030 is a sound idea, but ideas exist to be falsified—in other words, debunked or amended. That’s how the scientific method works. No theory is ever proved—only disproved. Ideas about strategy, operations, and tactics are no exception. The retired marines were unconvincing when they appealed to Congress to overturn General Berger’s concept. They offered little more than sloganeering. But that doesn’t mean the concept is invincible. Bruce Stubbs raises problems that, while not insoluble, are eminently worth taking into account.

Atlantic Council – Implementing the Marines’ A2/AD capabilities requires as many as thirty-five new Navy amphibious ships to transport the new Marine units to land-based deterrence and warfighting positions, especially those located in the archipelagic and maritime nations of the Indo-Pacific theater. Fielding these new Marine A2/AD and Navy amphibious lift capabilities has raised a number of issues. This commentary identifies ten key challenges, but, like Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports, it does not offer solutions. Resolving these issues with objective analysis will help support informed decision-making regarding the implementation of Force Design 2030.

Defense News – The Marine Corps Warfighting Lab has signed a nearly $5 million contract to test out hydrofoiling seagliders, which may provide an innovative solution for medical evacuation and resupply in littoral regions.

USNI News – After 11 days of drills, U.S. Marines and Philippine forces wrapped up the seventh iteration of the KAMANDAG Marine exercise in Manila over the weekend.

USNI News – The Marine Corps formally established its second littoral regiment, converting the Japan-based 12th Marine Regiment into the 12th Marine Littoral Regiment (MLR) at Camp Hansen, Okinawa, on Wednesday, in line with its modernization efforts under the Force Design 2030 plan.

USNI News – Naval Sea Systems Command has released the draft notice to industry to build a fleet of new landing ships for the Navy and Marine Corps.

CNN – The USS Bataan and the 26th MEU move to a position off of Israel.

Defense News –  The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps should reconsider the survivability of their surface connectors, which the Corps is increasingly relying on to operate in contested waters, RAND researchers warn in a new report.

Defense News – Successfully deploying Marines on commercial ships requires overcoming thorny logistical hurdles, ensuring well-developed command and control, articulating clear rules of engagement, and contingency planning for controlling escalation and de-escalation.