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.

Defense News – The U.S. Marine Corps has overhauled the force faster than initially expected when it kicked off a major modernization effort three years ago ­— but despite this early progress, two top generals say the service wants more capability faster for deployed forces.

Defense News – The U.S. Marine Corps will test out its first stern landing vessel at an Army event this spring, a top general said Wednesday, as the service prepares to create a fleet of shore-to-shore connectors to support Marines operating in the Pacific.

Defense News – As the U.S. Marine Corps considers how to move weapons around contested waters to resupply forces ashore, it’s copying an unusual source: drug traffickers.

USNI News – Marines are looking to push as many tasks as possible to autonomous systems as the service aims to operate across wide swaths of the Pacific.

Breaking Defense – Breaking Defense was on hand to see a Marine combat logistics regiment train to stay low-profile while extending the Corps’, and Navy’s, reach.

War Zone – The Marines are purchasing Iron Dome systems to help defend against ever increasing threats posed by cruise missiles and drones.

USNI News – Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron 3 (VMU 3) introduced its new Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles in a ceremony at Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, last week.

USNI News – What began with 250 American Marines and sailors at Australia’s “Top End” 12 years ago has grown into a Marine air-ground task force of 2,500 that spends its seven-month rotation spread across Australia and the western Pacific.

The Guardian – Commercial vessels would be invited to carry sailors and marines in Strait of Hormuz, part of Persian Gulf where Pentagon is beefing up presence.

USNI News – USS Bataan (LHD-5) and USS Carter Hall (LSD-50) are in the Mediterranean Sea, having crossed through the Strait of Gibraltar Wednesday. Bataan, along with Carter Hall and elements of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, is being dispatched to U.S. Central Command as part of the U.S. response to Iran’s continued seizure of commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.