Force Design 2030

Force Design 2030, also known as FD2030, is an ongoing force restructuring plan by the United States Marine Corps to reshape its combat power for future near-peer adversary conflicts that was introduced in March 2020 by the Commandant of the Marine Corps, General David H. Berger.[1] In October 2023 the program was renamed Force Design, removing the "2030."[2]

According to the Force Design documents, is designed to prepare the Marine Corps for a naval war against China. The plan's key goals are to modernize equipment, to work closer with the United States Navy and become more amphibious, to become more of a light strike force, and to manage personal talents better.[3][4]

Force Design will see the Marine Corps create a new formation called littoral regiments, consisting of infantry, rocket artillery, logistics, and an anti-air battery, which will be highly mobile and have a long range precision strike capability. The littoral regiments will be equipped with missiles and drones, and can form smaller teams that could be moved quickly from island to island using amphibious ships, to assist the Navy with attacking enemy vessels and keeping sea lanes open.[5][6][7] As part of these changes, the plan includes getting rid of all tanks[8] and replacing the majority of cannon artillery with rocket artillery.[9] Structural changes include increasing the number of UAV squadrons, missile artillery batteries, and C-130 transport squadrons, while removing almost all cannon artillery batteries, and all tank and bridging companies. The numbers of other units, including infantry battalions, tilt-rotor aircraft squadrons, and helicopter squadrons, are being slightly reduced.[5]

A group of about thirty retired generals, including every living former Commandant of the Marine Corps, has criticized the plan and tried to lobby against it.[10] Despite this, Force Design is supported by the Department of Defense and members of Congress and the Senate.[11] The main criticisms from the group of retired generals are that Force Design makes the Corps too focused on one theater, is based on new ideas that have not been thoroughly tested, and weakens its overall capability by the removal of tanks and the reduction of cannon artillery.[1][12][13][14] The advocates of Force Design have argued that recent events in the Russo-Ukrainian War and the Red Sea crisis prove the viability of the plan.[11][12]

  1. ^ a b Macander, Michelle; Hwang, Grace (July 22, 2022). "Marine Corps Force Design 2030: Examining the Capabilities and Critiques". Center for Strategic and International Studies.
  2. ^ Loewensen, Irene (February 1, 2024). "Marine leaders drop '2030' from name of ambitious overhaul plan". Marine Corps Times.
  3. ^ "Force Design 2030: Annual Report 2022". Marines.mil. May 23, 2022. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  4. ^ Force Design 2030 (PDF). United States Marine Corps (Report). March 2020.
  5. ^ a b Gordon, Michael R. (March 22, 2020). "Marines Plan to Retool to Meet China Threat". Wall Street Journal.
  6. ^ Cancian, Mark (June 14, 2022). "Analyzing the biggest changes in the Marine Corps Force Design 2030 update". Breaking Defense.
  7. ^ Cancian, Mark (March 25, 2020). "The Marine Corps' Radical Shift toward China". Center for Strategic and International Studies.
  8. ^ South, Todd (March 22, 2021). "Goodbye, tanks: How the Marine Corps will change, and what it will lose, by ditching its armor". Marine Corps Times.
  9. ^ Athey, Philip (April 9, 2021). "How a Marine Corps shift to long ranges may change its strong cannoneer tradition". Marine Corps Times.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference Politico was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference war was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ a b Work, Robert (Summer 2023). "Marine Force Design: Changes Overdue Despite Critics' Claims". Texas National Security Review. 6 (3).
  13. ^ Boomer, Walter; Conway, James (15 June 2024). "Force Design 2030: Operational Incompetence". Real Clear Defense.
  14. ^ Webb, Jim (March 25, 2022). "Momentous Changes in the U.S. Marine Corps' Force Organization Deserve Debate". Wall Street Journal.