Force Design 2030

When you think of the United States Marine Corps, the first thing that comes to mind is the deep-rooted Naval traditions. A Naval Expeditionary Force is the base of how the Marine Corps was established and how they started to build such a polished reputation. Today’s Marine Corps is shifting its operational focus away from land-based operations and returning to its Naval Expeditionary roots. This change comes in response to the global threats that China and Russia pose. The ability to control the sea has been a vital step to the success of the United States even prior to the country’s inception.

^{Figure 1 Marines with Combat Logistics Battalion 8 conducting route clearance operations in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan. (2011)}

Based upon this existential crisis, the Marine Corps has published its Tentative Manual for Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations. A significant keynote in this manual will be the new formation of small naval task forces that will support the Navy’s activities. One reason for this implementation is to counter the long-range ballistic missiles that China currently possesses. Another major change will be the doubling of the Marine Corps unmanned aerial systems squadrons. This will play a vital role in the naval operation’s strategy through Unmanned aircraft system (UAS) reconnaissance and C-UAS movements.

^{Figure 2 Marines boarding an enemy vessel}

NuWaves RF Solutions offers various products across multiple categories that can support the restructure and realignment by the Marine Corps. One product that would accelerate the capabilities of these new changes is the NuPower™ 11B02A-TAC Mini Multi-Octave Power Amplifier.

This ruggedized, high-performance power amplifier is a crucial addition to any Unmanned aircraft system (UAS). It is an instrumental fit for any platform that is size, weight, and power-constrained (SWaP). The module boasts 10 Watts of RF power over the 200 MHz to 2.6 GHz frequency range. Additionally, the NuPower™ 11B02A-TAC features an LED temperature monitor indicator, locking RF enable switch, and RF ports intentionally designed to make it impossible for an operator to reverse polarity in the field. NuWaves offers a quick turn product cycle that can provide power amplifiers, bidirectional amplifiers, and low noise amplifiers to improve the systems already in place.

^{Figure 3 NuPower™ 11B02A-TAC Mini Multi-Octave Power Amplifier}

References

• https://www.cfr.org/article/marine-corps-shifting-focus-what-know
• https://news.usni.org/2021/04/15/marines-begin-experimentation-to-refine-manual-for-expeditionary-advanced-base-operations
• Figure 2: https://warontherocks.com/2019/12/expeditionary-advanced-maritime-operations-how-the-marine-corps-can-avoid-becoming-a-second-land-army-in-the-pacific/