Marines in Spaaaaaace!

"After three years of being laughed out of meetings, the U.S. Marine Corps' futuristic plans to deploy through space may finally be getting some traction," notes Aviation Week's spunky new spin-off, Defense Technology International.

Although the chuckle factor hasn't altogether disappeared, the Air Force Research Laboratory and Darpa are beginning a study of options for a reusable upper-stage space travel vehicle -- the same kind of technology that the Marines might need for a ride halfway across the globe.

The effort is called "Hot Eagle," and it could be the first step forward in the Marine Corps' hopes for space travel. Within minutes of bursting into the atmosphere beyond the speed of sound -- and dispatching that ominous sonic boom -- a small squad of Marines could be on the ground and ready to take care of business within 2 hours. [One presentation muses that the capsule might later be picked up by a Osprey or by a "balloon cable and C-17" transport plane. Or, the Marines might "hike out," and "leave [the] crew capsule behind." -- ed.]

The Marine Corps calls the concept the Small Unit Space Transport and Insertion Capability (Sustain). This plan, a growing group of Marine supporters say, is the natural evolution of the service's proclivity for expeditionary warfare that began decades ago with amphibious landings...

The concept is to deliver strategic equipment or a small squad of soldiers to any point on the globe -- even the most hard-to-reach location -- within hours of need. Once on the ground, those soldiers can carry out strategically critical missions like reconnaissance or destroying a specific target.

At least, that's their pitch.

http://www.defensetech.org/archives/001815.html

[Grimmy]

When I was given the go ahead to step accross from a combat arms bonus infantryman to the intel field I was also given 2 other options.

One was to go to NASA as part of a new "USMC Space Program" and the other was to go to Aberdeen Proving Grounds and be a test monkey with "hand held laser weaponry"

The Space Marine thing was explained to me as a new concept of intracontenintal rapid deployment via transatmospheric vehicles. The impression given was that the Shuttle was the vehicle.
The laser weapons... I was shown a set of pics... were tethered to Amtracs by cables that fed them the juice to function, appearantly.

I stuck to the intel because I'd read Sun Zu and was working under the impression that any soldier not knowing the enemy as well as his own forces was pretty much a moron. I didnt want to be a moron.

No clue what the other programs were really about...never heard anything about them again. But I'll be willing to bet that the space deploy isnt a new idea.

[SR-25]

Sounds pretty good to me. I wouldnt mind goin out into space for a deployment!

[tterb0]

It does sound cool, but the one thing that came to my mind was that it almost might be a suicide mission.

My Point: You are getting launched into a hot zone, you can be there within about 2 hours. Awesome! We got guys over there taking care of business, doing what Marines do best. You have a squad of Marines in a hot zone half way across the globe in 2 hours, how long will it take support to get their? Ressuply? Air support? Extraction?

I'm sure they have already thought about that, and have plans, but it was just the first thing that came to mind.

[Grimmy]

tterb0, you nailed what alot of folks dont get. War winning is alwase as much about the logistics as it is about the shooters. You gotta get em there, keep em fed while there and then get em back home. Gotta have all 3 of those parts covered or its all no good.

[ArchAngel]

Anyone hear the Star War drums rumbling? LoL, Space Marines, that's kinda catchy though it is already used by the game Warhammer 40k.


I think it's an "ok" idea, just need to work out the logistics as Terb pointed out.

[SpongeJuan]

I wonder what ribbon we can get for going to space? It wont be the overseas ribbon, so will they create a new one? hahahahahaha

I'm sure that if they were to send a squad of Marines they wouldn't just send one, but who knows what their plans are. All I know is that I sure would love to be in that squadron, it would be some good experience.

[dvldogcandidate]

First of all, i'm surprised the USMC is getting enough funding for R&D of a 'space' program. The Marines have always been asked to do more with less and I think the idea of the Marines being innovators of technology is pretty cool.

With the logistics issue, it definately looks like a hurdle, but let's look at it a little closer. Alright, with the space vehicle, we can deploy let's say a squad of Marines anywhere on the globe in two hours. Alright, how long can sustain themselves in the field... depends on what they bring with them. You're basically looking at something like a recon element... far behind enemy lines who face the same logistics issues. For arguments sake, let's give them a week of self-sustainment.
Our conventional aircraft can also make it anywhere around the world in a fairly short amount of time. We're looking at a longer perioed than the space vehicle... i'm guessing 12 hours for a C-130 w/ some mid-air fueling as compared to two hours. I don't know the specifics, but assuming air superiority, we'll have certain resupply, deployment, and extraction possibilites in a day or less.
Having a squad-sized element cut off for a day is certainly nothing new, and I'm sure they could handle it given the right training. I doubt that this type of insertion would be used for combat missions, but look at it as another insertion method for let's say force recon.

There are still issues with the Marine space program, but I'm sure that's being dealt with. After all, this type of program, or even a study into this type of program costs a lot of money. The Marine Corps isn't going to spend it's precious money without looking at all the angles.

[Vulture6]

Don't think that we're going to send a squad anywhere in the world in two hours by themselves. An AAV doesn't carry much more than a reinforced squad, and a CH-46 in some climes can't carry that much. So imagine 18 of those carriers coming in together carrying a rifle company.

Hell of a way to do an airfield seizure - come in from nowhere with a series of sonic booms, take down the airfield, secure the area, and have the C-130s and C-5s inbound in 5 or 6 hours with the rest of the battalion, some LAVs, Arty, and plenty of food and water. Sure beats coming in from over the horizon in a half a dozen phrogs at 80 or 90 knots.

[tterb0]

Sounds cooler too!

[Covertness]

Next ya'll will be talking about doing bug hunts on Planet P

[Grimmy]

Covert!!

You know that is classified!