The US Armed Forces are preparing for a prospective conflict in the Indian and Pacific Oceans with China, which poses the problem of contested logistics.
Being able to rapidly deliver capability, equipment and resources to forward deployed units across this vast expanse will prove a difficult task; and one that has not been attempted since America’s island-hopping campaign against Japan in World War II (WWII).
Go deeper with GlobalData
“The United States is driven by two things: vulnerability, and the need for escorts in an environment of contested logistics,” observed Mark Cancian, a Colonel of 30 years in the US Marine Corps (USMC), and now senior fellow for the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Cancian’s analysis is informed by having participated in a comprehensive and iterative war game pitting the People’s Republic of China (PRC) against the United States in a prospective conflict over Taiwan.
“The United States is driven by two things: vulnerability, and the need for escorts in an environment of contested logistics.”
Mark Cancian, senior fellow, CSIS.
The USMC, as the forward deployed and amphibious element of the Navy, will play an integral role in American military strategy in this contentious theatre. In confronting the problem of contested logistics, the USMC is exploring options to use Uncrewed Surface Vessels (USVs), Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), and Uncrewed Underwater Vehicles (UUVs) to support manoeuvre, mobility, and sustainment of forward forces.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataNaval Technology spoke to Cathy Close, a spokesperson from Marine Corps Combat Development and Integration, to gain a greater sense of this planning.
What will this look like?
“The operational strategy,” Close defined, “centres around the need for multiple distribution capabilities from the Landing Ship Medium (LSM) and Global Positioned Networks (GPN) down to distribution at the tactical unit level.”
In this backdrop, many uncrewed systems may be procured to deploy from LSMs, of which the USMC plan to acquire between 18 and 35 ships, the first of which was recently named the USS McClung (LSM 1).
At the same time, these assets will remain connected within a wider agile network of systems through the GPN offered by satellites.
“Ultimately, the desire is to minimise human risk by conducting operational/tactical manoeuvre, tactical mobility, and tactical sustainment of forward forces,” Close added.
USVs, UAVs, and UUVs will be used to transport and deliver all classes of supply, Close confirmed.
“The USMC is pursuing any design that is affordable, attritable, and capable to deliver sustainment effectively to the operating forces,” she stated.
This looks slightly different to naval logistics today, where supply lines are made secure by personnel in crewed platforms.
The Ike carrier strike group, for example, gradually strengthened its supply lines throughout its presence in the bottlenecked Red Sea strip with the transit of goods from Bahrain, Djibouti and Naples to sustain their efforts intercepting Houthi strikes against maritime shipping as part of Operation Prosperity Guardian.
This was the longest period that US Navy ships have been in a weapons engagement zone since WWII.
What uncrewed systems are the USMC exploring?
Currently, the USMC only have small contracts for experimental concept design vessels such as the Autonomous Low-Profile Vessel (ALPV), Global Autonomous Reconnaissance Craft (GARCs), and the Tactical Resupply Unmanned Aircraft System (TRUAS).
The Marine Corp Warfare Laboratory (MCWL) have acquired two ALPVs, while the Department of the Navy have contracts in place for the GARC and TRUAS.
Unlike some other drones, the TRUAS is highly automated and not flown manually. Instead, the system uses waypoint navigation for mission planning, using programmed coordinates to direct the aircraft’s flight pattern.
The ALPV is a semi-submersible autonomous logistics delivery system that can be configured to deliver multiple variations of supplies and equipment throughout the littorals.
Project Convergence Capstone Four, or PC-C4, is an Army-hosted, all-service and multinational experiment. During PC-C4, in February 2024, the MCWL tested new technologies and capabilities and emerging concepts.
MCWL is experimenting with ALPVs through 2027.
Meanwhile, GARCs are 16-foot USVs that provide additional capability and capacity to augment the Navy’s traditional combatant force, providing commanders with a greater range of capabilities and employment options to increase the fleet’s tactical and strategic advantages.
Right now, GARCs are conducting experimentation to inform multi-mission reconnaissance and contested logistics future requirements. The goal for such USVs is to provide the fleet with operations in conjunction with carrier strike groups, surface action groups, or even independently.
