Welcome: 12 MLR

[Rifleman62]

Here's an article providing a bit more info on the 811-man battalion.

Wouldn't that be interesting to read an article on the war fighting ability of the CA.

 

[ArmyRick]

Wouldn't that be interesting to read an article on the war fighting ability of the CA.

Like the current CA? Eeek

 

[Colin Parkinson]

From the above Sept 2023 article....



A 50 km company.....

That's going to require a lot of new training for the Platoon commanders and Company Commanders.

 

[Kirkhill]

That's going to require a lot of new training for the Platoon commanders and Company Commanders.

There is a concurrent effort to raise the rank level one grade from the Fire Team on up, both at the NCO and commissioned level.

One way to put the pieces of the puzzle together, focusing on the MLR vice the MEUs and MAGTF might be this:

1x Marine Littoral Regiment

1x Combat Logistics Battalion

9x LSM

			1x Littoral Anti-Aircraft Battalion
			1x Headquarters and Support Battery
			1x Air Control Battery
			1x Sensor Platoon
			1x FAD Platoon
	1x Air Control Platoon				1x Air Control Platoon
1x GBAD Platoon		1x GBAD Platoon		1x GBAD Platoon		1x GBAD Platoon
			1x Ground Based Air Defense Battery

6x NSM	6x NSM	6x NSM		6x NSM	6x NSM	6x NSM
3x NMESIS	3x NMESIS	3x NMESIS		3x NMESIS	3x NMESIS	3x NMESIS
1x Section	1x Section	1x Section		1x Section	1x Section	1x Section
	1x Platoon				1x Platoon
			1x ASM Battery

1x Platoon	1x Platoon	1x Platoon		1x Platoon	1x Platoon	1x Platoon
	1x Rifle Company (EABO)				1x Rifle Company (EABO)
		1x Platoon	1x Platoon	1x Platoon
			1x Rifle Company (QRF)
			1x Littoral Combat Team

Apologies for the XL formatting but...

Marine Littoral Regiment Colonel has under command a Logistics Battalion with 9 Landing Ship Medium (LSM) attached, an infantry battalion of 811 designed to operate in large, autonomous platoons, a Light Anti-Aircraft Battalion and the key element, an Anti-Ship Missile Battery, These are in addition to attached elements like LRUSVs and Reapers as well as Corps assets (MEUs and MAGTFs) as well as USN Assets which are likely to include flotillas of 40 knot LCSs and EPF/JHSVs.

As noted the key element in the MLR is the Anti-Ship Missile battery equipped with 18 launchers each mounting 2 NSMs with ranges of up to 250 km. The 18 launchers are grouped in sections of 3 with a total of 6 ready to launch missiles in each section. This compares usefully with the 8 ready to launch NSMs mounted on each of the Independence class LCSs. There are 15 of those vessels currently active. Equally distributed that would allow 5 platforms to support each of the MLRs

There are two platoons of three sections in the ASM battery. If a section is broadly equivalent to an LCS in terms of NSMs then the MLR commandant would have 6 "Stone LCS" with 6 NSMs each and 5 "Mobile" LCS with 8 NSMs each. The Stone LCS sections of the battery would be deployed by means of the LSMs to dig in on islands, rocks and sandbars.

The MLR commandant would then have three primary fire units, one unit of NSMs on fast moving ships and two platoons of NSMs deployed on islands creating choke points and channels.

Each of the two ASM/NSM platoons would have its own protective force.

The Light Anti Aircraft Battalion seems to conform with two Air Control Platoons and 4 GBAD platoons.

That might suggest to me that the MLR commander will be deploying to cover two sectors, each with and Air Control Platoon and 2 GBAD Platoons supplying protection to 1 ASM/NSM platoon. The ASM/NSM platoon is likely to be dispersed under the ACPs umbrella as three separate sections.

Continuing on from there the MLR has his infantry battalion available to supply close protection for the ASM/NSM and LAAB assets.

His infantry battalion of 811 is being task organized into three large companies with their own medical, sigs, int and log assets. Effectively they are becoming small battalions rather than large companies. That 50 km company now starts to make a bit more sense to me.

The MLR commander is likely to assign two of his companies forwards to supply close protection to the artillery assets and retain the third company as a Quick Reaction Force to intervene when his forward elements get into trouble, perhaps working in conjunction with his 5 LCS ships.

The forward companies would be divided into three platoons providing cover for each of three ASM/NSM sections of the ASM Platoon in each ACP sector.


Final configuration?


Air Control Platoon Sector Left and Air Control Platoon Sector Right

ACP Sector
2x GBAD Platoon
1x ASM/NSM Platoon organized in 3 sections with 3 launch vehicles and 6 ready to fire NSM missiles
1x Rifle Company Team organized in 3 large platoons, each covering off one of the ASM/NSM sections
That sector group would comprise 7 platoons plus support and would be deployed on three LSMs

Requirements for the ship call for an LSM capable of carrying at least 75 Marines, hauling 600 tons of equipment, and having an 8,000 square foot cargo area, a NAVSEA spokesperson told USNI News last week.

Draft Proposal for ‘Affordable’ Medium Landing Ship Out to Shipbuilders - USNI News

Naval Sea Systems Command has released the draft notice to industry to build a fleet of new landing ships for the Navy and Marine Corps. The Landing Ship Medium (LSM) is billed as the “affordable shore-to-shore USMC maneuver capability,” according to a summary of the program reviewed by USNI...

news.usni.org

It is possible that the Marines LAW/LSM could end up overlapping with the Army's larger Heavy Landing Ship

To complement its existing acquisition program for a light landing vessel, the Army seeks to build a much larger 400-foot landing ship dubbed the Maneuver Support Vessel - Heavy (MSV-H). With a payload of up to 175 soldiers and their equipment, it would have more than twice the capacity of the Marine Corps' LSM. The Army is looking for a design that can move at 18 knots, about 50 percent faster than its current vessels, project manager Wolfgang Petermann told Breaking Defense this week.

Based on the initial specifications for a similar Maneuver Support Vessel (Next) program released by the Army in 2020, the vessel would have a payload of about 1,200 dwt and would be capable of operations in Sea State 7 conditions. Reflecting the Army's practically-minded approach to maritime operations, the specification has stringent requirements for ease of repair.

U.S. Army's Next Heavy Landing Ship May Outclass Marine Corps' LSM

The U.S. Army's little-known Watercraft Systems division plans to acquire a new fleet of landing ships that could outclass the U.S. Marine Corps&#...

maritime-executive.com

In reserve the MLR commander would have the 5 ship LCS flotilla (with a couple of EPF/JHSVs as MRTs and TCVs) and a large rifle company team of about 300 as a QRF.

Conveniently the EPF/JHSVs have airline seating for 312 troops.

USNS Spearhead - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

One question remains - in the Air Control sector who is in command? The Air Defence Platoon commander, the Anti-Ship platoon commander or the Rifle Company commander?

 

[Colin Parkinson]

Speaking of the LCS

 

[Kirkhill]

Speaking of the LCS

Fincantieri monohull Freedom.

Not Austal trimaran Independence that will be operating in Austal's home waters.

 

[Kirkhill]

A couple of USMC majors "wigging out" about littoral manouver.

https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2024/10/04/rocking_the_boat_to_make_littoral_mobility_the_next_offset_1062908.html

https://www.stengg.com/en/aerospace/aerostructures-and-systems/wing-in-ground-craft/

 

[Kirkhill]

Marines to Add Self-Driving Tech to Anti-Ship Missile Launchers - USNI News

The Marine Corps new anti-ship missile launchers will add a self-driving capability following a Pentagon contract for ground vehicle autonomy. On Monday, Forterra announced that its AutoDrive System will be integrated into Oshkosh Defense’s Remotely Operated Ground Unit for Expeditionary (ROGUE)...

news.usni.org

The Marine Corps new anti-ship missile launchers will add a self-driving capability following a Pentagon contract for ground vehicle autonomy.

On Monday, Forterra announced that its AutoDrive System will be integrated into Oshkosh Defense’s Remotely Operated Ground Unit for Expeditionary (ROGUE) Fires vehicles, an unmanned variant of the Joint Tactical Light Vehicle, developed for the Marine Corps. The service is set to operate two vehicle variants through the Naval Strike Missile-mounted Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) and the Tomahawk-capable Long Range Fires Launcher. According to the service, these launchers will provide the service with “an organic anti-surface warfare capability in support of Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations.”

“Fielding self-driving ground autonomy on ROGUE Fires is crucial to the Marines’ modernization plans and Forterra is proud to partner with Oshkosh Defense on a system that will reduce casualties and improve our warfighters’ ability to fight and win,” said Christian Seifert, Head of Robotic Missile Systems at Forterra in a statement to USNI News.

Since its introduction in 2021, the unmanned ROGUE Fires missile launcher maneuvered via remote control or followed a leader vehicle. Marine operators also guided the vehicle on foot using this follow-the-leader capability. While earlier modes of guidance demonstrated limited autonomy, this is the first time the service plans to install a self-driving capability on NMESIS. Forterra claimed that its AutoDrive system will bring enhanced maneuverability in any environment while also lessening the strain on its Marine operators from remotely controlling the launcher.

....

Tomahawk version along with the NSM NMESIS ROGUE

US Marine Corps reveals new Tomahawk ground-based Long Range Fires Lau

According to an article published by the U.S. Naval Institute on July 25, 2023, the US Marine Corps has publicly disclosed its most recent unmanned 4x4 lau

armyrecognition.com