US Marines to use technology and amphibious power against China.

The U.S. Marine Corps is taking bold steps to integrate advanced technologies into its warfighting concepts to better counter power rivals like China. According to Gen. David Berger, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, this means taking on more risk to ensure greater battlefield rewards.

“It’s not necessarily the embracing of new ideas that’s hard. It’s letting go of the old,” Berger said during a June 13 talk with the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.

“We have to accept risk in certain areas and move very quickly if we’re going to stay in front.”

Berger’s comments focused on the Marine Corps’ ongoing implementation of Force Design 2030, a program begun in 2020 with the goal of preparing the Marine Corps for a naval war against major adversaries like China.

Refocusing on Amphibious Warfare

Many strategists believe that the world is entering a new era of naval competition between great powers. Any conflict between the United States and China would turn on the ability of either side to control vital sea lanes.

Chinese naval forces greatly outnumber the U.S. Navy in terms of surface combatants. This means that, should a war break out in the Indo-Pacific, the United States would be starting at a sizable disadvantage.

According to Berger, naval power will only become more vital to ensuring the national interest in the coming decade, and the U.S. Marines will be central to that effort.

“Submarines, aircraft carriers, amphibious forces. Those three categories are what great naval powers have to have in order to protect their national interests,” Berger said.

“We need to go back to our naval roots and be naval. Not because it’s our roots, but because that’s how we’re most effective.”

After 20 years in the Middle East, Berger said, there are difficulties adjusting back to the amphibious operations for which the Marine Corps was created. Nevertheless, he said, acting in close coordination with the Navy and refocusing on amphibious strike power would grant the nation a decided advantage in any conflict.

Leveraging New Technologies

The Marine Corps is also looking to ensure that new technologies, whether they be space-based targeting systems or autonomous vehicles, are understood at every level of command.

“There’s a growing acknowledgement that we have to be able to fight in a degraded information environment,” Berger said. “We have to be able to fight in a contested electromagnetic spectrum.”

By leveraging new technologies, the Marine Corps hopes to gain an edge over its adversaries and ensure that it remains a vital component of the nation’s defense strategy.

Key Takeaways:

• The Marine Corps is doubling down on advanced technologies to counter power rivals like China.
• Refocusing on amphibious warfare will grant the nation a decided advantage in any conflict.
• Leveraging new technologies will help the Marine Corps gain an edge over its adversaries.