Compass Points - Nuts! to SIF

December 16, 2024

Compass Points - Nuts! to SIF

Two developments leave SIF behind.

December 16, 2024

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Eighty years ago this month, when the US Army's Screaming Eagles of the 101st Airborne Division were told by the Nazis to surrender at Bastogne, their commander replied, "Nuts!" Congratulations to the US Army.

In more recent news, at Cape Canaveral, the Army and Navy worked together to successfully test a new hypersonic missile.

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“This test is a demonstration of the successful Navy and Army partnership that has allowed us to develop a transformational hypersonic weapon system that will deliver unmatched capability to meet joint warfighting needs,” said Vice Adm. Johnny R. Wolfe Jr, Director, Navy’s Strategic Systems Programs, which is the lead designer of the common hypersonic missile.

. . .Hypersonic systems – capable of flying at speeds greater than five times the speed of sound (Mach 5) –provide a combination of speed, range, maneuverability, and altitude that enables highly survivable and rapid defeat of time-critical and heavily-defended targets.

“The responsiveness, maneuverability and survivability of hypersonic weapons is unmatched by traditional strike capabilities for precision targeting, especially in anti-access/area denial environments,” said Lt. Gen. Robert A. Rasch, Director of Hypersonics, Directed Energy, Space and Rapid Acquisitions for RCCTO.

The U.S. Army RCCTO and U.S. Navy SSP programs are partnered to rapidly field land and sea variants of a hypersonic weapon system that will meet critical joint warfighting needs. The use of a common hypersonic missile and joint test opportunities allow the Services to pursue a more aggressive timeline for delivery and realize cost savings. The collaboration between RCCTO and SSP enables the Services to stay ahead of emerging threats and maintain a decisive advantage on the battlefield.

-- Naval News

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Why is the Navy working with the Army to develop and field the new hypersonic missile? Perhaps it is because the Army has a long history of missile capabilities. Or perhaps it is because the Army has already developed and deployed its missile Multi-Domain Task Forces (MDTF) in the Pacific and also has Army watercraft for support.

The Marine Corps, on the other hand, in four years has developed zero operationally deployed missile units. The so-called Marine missile Stand-in-Forces (SIF) are designed to fire the Navy Strike Missile (NSM), a subsonic missile with a range of little more than 100 nautical miles. Worst of all, any deployment and use of the Marine missile SIF is dependent on the construction of the Landing Ship Medium (LSM), but no LSMs have been built so far. Now, Nick Wilson is reporting for Inside Defense, "Navy punting LSM award due to pricier-than-expected bids."

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The Navy has been forced to further postpone procurement of the Landing Ship Medium due to higher-than-expected bids, according to the assistant Navy secretary for research, development, and acquisition, who today cast doubt on the service's previous plan to procure the lead vessel in fiscal year 2025. “We put it out for bid, and it came back with a much higher price tag, and we simply weren't able to pull it off. So, we had to pull that solicitation back...

-- Nick Wilson, Inside Defense

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After four years of focus and continuous briefings, the Marines have not been able to operationally deploy even one SIF missile unit off China’s coast. The Marines are not even planning for a hypersonic missile, but are stuck with the much slower and much shorter ranged Naval Strike Missile. And the Marine SIF missile units are dependent on the Landing Ship Medium which just had its solicitation pulled and will most likely never be constructed.

The Army, on the other hand, a recent GAO study reports, owns 70 watercraft and is expanding their fleet by acquiring new light and heavy versions of the Maneuver Support Vessel (MSV Light & Heavy).

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Army Watercraft Current Force Structure and Readiness

As of May 2024, the Army owns 70 watercraft that are nearly evenly assigned to both FORSCOM and USARPAC. This fleet consists of the following six watercraft vessel types:

-- Logistics Support Vessels (LSV)

-- Landing Craft Utility (LCU)

-- Landing Craft Mechanized (LCM)

-- Small Tug (ST)

-- Modular Causeway Systems (MCS)

-- Maneuver Support Vessel (Light & Heavy) (MSV(Light & Heavy)) in acquisition

While each vessel type has a specific mission, the Army and Joint Force rely on the LSV and LCU the most due to their ability to perform logistic over-the-shore missions; conduct ship-to-ship and ship-to-shore connections; and transport cargo, such as ammunition and equipment (see fig. 3).

— GAO

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On the 80th anniversary of the US Army's refusal to surrender at Bastogne, it is time for the Marine Corps to say, "Nuts!" to all those who would have the Marine Corps surrender the global, combined arms, MAGTF. It is nuts to keep focusing on SIF missile units that have no advanced missiles and no logistic support ships. The Navy and Army may have a new hypersonic missile, but what they do not have is the power and flexibility of the deployed Marine Air Ground Task Force that can arrive off any coast prepared to deter, assist, and fight.

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Naval News - 12/14/2024

US Army and US Navy Successfully Test LRHW Hypersonic Missile

The U.S. Army's Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office, in collaboration with the U.S. Navy Strategic Systems Programs, recently completed a successful end-to-end flight test of a conventional hypersonic missile from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida.

https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2024/12/us-army-and-us-navy-successfully-test-lrhw-hypersonic-missile/