USMC to revise Force Design 2030 but MBT removal plans remain unchanged
M1A1 Abrams MBT was removed from the USMC inventory in 2020. (Photo: USMC)
The war in Ukraine and great power competition with China and Russia are leading the USMC to revisit its posture and strategy by working on an updated version of its Force Design 2030 vision.
Although the new document will take into account the current geopolitical scenario, it will not reassess the decision to divest the USMC heavy armour fleet.
Lt Gen Karsten Heckl, head of the Marine Corps Combat Development Command and Deputy Commandant for Combat Development and Integration, stressed that the updated Force Design 2030 will be soon released, and ‘tanks aren’t part of an envelope’ as they require a considerable
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