U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Bowden Miles, a field artillery cannoneer with 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment, operates a Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System during exercise Resolute Dragon at Camp Hansen, Japan, Sept. 21, 2025. The NMESIS is among several capabilities being fielded across the force as part of the service's Force Design 2030 modernization efforts. (Lucas Lu/U.S. Marine Corps)
More pre-positioned weapons stockpiles are headed to the Indo-Pacific in connection with an ongoing Marine Corps transformation aimed at shortening supply lines and speeding up troop movements in the event of conflict with China.
Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Eric Smith released the latest Force Design 2030 update Thursday, marking five years since the service launched its most significant force structure overhaul in a generation.
Much of the initiative centers on the idea of “stand-in forces,” which are more nimble and better able to carry out reconnaissance and counter-reconnaissance.
The concept provides the Pentagon with a hard-to-detect force that can find and sink enemy vessels at sea while maneuvering with greater range on land.
In its update announced Thursday, the Corps said it is refining force structure to “posture Marines for naval expeditionary operations, and ensure our units remain capable of deterring and defeating peer adversaries in the First Island Chain.”
That’s a reference to a strategic expanse that also includes Okinawa and the Philippines and separates the East and South China seas and the Pacific Ocean. The area would be a flashpoint in any conflict with China.
To strengthen its posture in the region, the Marine Corps is expanding pre-positioned stocks across the Indo-Pacific “to reduce reliance on long supply chains and build a resilient sustainment web,” the update said.
New pre-positioning programs in the Philippines, Australia and Palau are in the works as well, with the aim of “increasing regional responsiveness and strengthening alliances.”
The transformation push covers a wide spectrum, with a heavy focus on new technology such as drones designed to help Marines in battle.
Another advance is the fielding of Organic Precision Fires, a long-range precision artillery system for small units, for use by infantry formations.
Long-range precision fires have also been advanced to ship-fighting capabilities within littoral units with the Navy Marine Expeditionary Interdiction System anti-ship missile launchers, known as NMESIS.
A U.S. Air Force XQ-58A Valkyrie drone flies over Eglin Air Force Base’s Gulf Test and Training Range. The Marine Corps has recently been experimenting with the Valkyrie flying alongside its F-35 Lightning IIs as part of the Force Design 2030 initiative. (Ilka Cole/U.S. Air Force)
While six NMESIS launchers have been delivered to the 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment, the update outlines plans to give all medium-range missile batteries 18 launchers, expecting full capability by 2033.
The Corps introduced Marine littoral regiments as part of its new force design in 2022, with the focus on forming mobile units designed to operate within enemy missile range in island-focused warfare.
The 3rd Littoral Regiment, based in Hawaii, managed to achieve its initial operating capability in December 2023, and according to the update, the 12th Littoral Regiment is expected to reach the same milestone in 2026.
Both are part of III Marine Expeditionary Force, the Corps’ frontline force for the Indo-Pacific. Besides its Okinawa headquarters, it has bases on Guam and in Hawaii.
The update also says the service has completed fielding all planned High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, with 10 active and reserve batteries now in place.
As for replacement of aging vehicles, by the end of 2025 the Corps “will have fielded 257 personnel carriers and mission control variants … 41% of our total acquisition goal,” the update says.
Other advances include the fielding of 5,000 out of a projected 12,500 lightweight tactical vehicles that will replace Humvees.
The Corps also is modernizing its airpower. Older aircraft, including AV-8B Harrier IIs and F/A-18 Hornets, are being retired in favor of F-35 Lightning IIs.
And the Corps has stepped up experimentation with the XQ-58 Valkyrie, an autonomous drone meant to fly alongside fighter jets that can provide reconnaissance, carry sensors, or deliver weapons, the update said.
