Equipping The NMESIS Battery

Abstract

As the Marine Corps seeks to meet the strategic guidance set forth in the 2018 National Defense Strategy, the organization must replace legacy weapons systems that are less effective within the littoral combat area. As part of the Navy and Marine Corps Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS), the Marine Corps will incorporate the Naval Strike Missile (NSM) as one capability that will contribute to the Navy’s freedom of maneuver within an enemy’s weapon engagement zone (WEZ). Designated as the ROGUE-Fires system, the Marine Corps solution is an unmanned Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) that has the ability to mount either the NSM or the Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) family of munitions. This study’s purpose is to assess the ideal equipping solution to ensure a NMESIS battery can accomplish its Training and Readiness (T&R) standards, assuming that it will be financially unfeasible to equip each unit with a full complement of 18 systems per battery. By limiting systems per battery in CONUS, the Marine Corps can reallocate additional funds toward replacing other legacy systems identified in Force Design 2030. Data used in the study included Total Force Training requirements, MOS-specific training objectives, and current unmanned system operators training objectives to formulate an example of likely T&R standards for a NMESIS battery.