On top of a 1,100 US marines reinforcement in Afghanistan, a significant increase in heavy guns and artillery rockets (HIMARS) benefit from a more generous budget aiming at fighting the Taliban as well as ISIS in the Middle East. The USMC baseline budget request for fiscal 2019 is $27.6 billion, up from $26.3 billion tin 2018.
The USMC wants more HIMARS ! (Picture source: Army Recognition)
Big investments are dedicated to the development of the CH-53K King Stallion’s potential, the heavy-lift helicopter scheduled to replace the aging CH-53E Super Stallion. The budget calls for eight CH-53K aircraft ahead of the helicopter's planned initial operational capability date in 2019. The amphibious combat vehicle ACV 1.1 programme is also “swallowing” a significant budget, the acquisition of 30 vehicles being planned, up from 26 last year. A single manufacturer should be selected this year among BAE Systems and SAIC.
The USMC is also investing in the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV), set to replace the Humvee for both the Army and the Marine Corps. 1,642 vehicles are requested for the Corps, up from just 527 last year.
Ground weapons systems form the biggest part of the buys: there should be $47 million in 155mm towed howitzers, up from $20 million in Fiscal 2018, and $3 million the previous year.
The annual spending in High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) is set to more than double, with a planned investment of $134 million, up from $60 million in Fiscal 2018 and $31 million the year before.
The USMC is the main HIMARS buyer. The Corps plans to reactivate its 5th Battalion, 10th Marines. The battalion, which then operated 155mm howitzers, was formally retired in 2012 following a final 2010 deployment to Afghanistan. The Marine Corps is very much leaning into its long-range rocket and artillery capabilities, seeking to gain greater range and targeting capability. A test carried on last October from a distance of roughly 43 miles was a success.
Since late 2017, HIMARS have been employed in Helmand province, Afghanistan as an additional defense system at the disposal of the roughly 300-Marine advisory element now assisting local forces in pushing back the Taliban. For Marine Corps howitzers, a major opportunity of demonstrating their capabilities took place in 2017 near Raqqa, Syria, when several hundred Marines from 1st Battalion, 10th Marines, crushed more ISIS fighters than any other unit. The men even burned out two howitzer barrels due to firing so many artillery rounds.
