According to a report by DefenseScoop on October 27, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, General Smith, has released the latest version of "Force Design Update 2025," a 24-page policy document that comprehensively outlines the transformation direction of the U.S. military in future warfare environments.

The document clearly states that with the rapid evolution of warfare forms, the traditional kill chain is no longer sufficient for operational needs. The Marine Corps must build a more flexible and highly interconnected kill web system to accurately identify and strike threat targets globally.

The policy emphasizes the importance of technological advancement but also points out that the real deciding factor of victory remains people, the combat will, and organizational capabilities.

The document sets efficient survival and operations in constrained environments as its core objective, proposing a series of reform plans covering multiple areas such as weapon systems, information networks, unmanned platforms, command and control, force deployment, and logistics support.

Although the text does not explicitly mention China, its overall strategic design and capability development unquestionably point to China.

Commandant of the Marine Corps, General Smith

The second part of the policy focuses on the structural reshaping of the Marine Corps' future operational capabilities.

Firstly, it places great emphasis on the concept of a kill web, a system that requires the integration of land, sea, air, space, and cyber domains to create an operational network where every sensor can serve every shooter.

The policy also proposes achieving generational leaps in weapon platforms: long-range precision strike systems such as the Navy/Marine Corps Integrated Strike Platform, HIMARS, Long Range Anti-Ship Missiles, and ground attack missiles will become standard configurations; in the aerial domain, the development of loyal wingman systems will be vigorously pursued.

In terms of ground forces, the policy re-examines the structure of infantry units and equips them with light drone operators to adapt to small, efficient combat units that integrate reconnaissance, guidance, and strike capabilities.

U.S. Military

The third part of the policy focuses on the restructuring of force deployment and logistics systems, emphasizing the sustainability of operations and battlefield mobility in constrained environments.

In terms of forward deployment, the document proposes expanding forward bases in the Indo-Pacific region, including the Philippines, Palau, and Australia, forming a global multi-point response network with existing bases in Norway and sea-based mobile bases.

These bases will serve as pivot points for "Expeditionary Forces," allowing the Marine Corps to seize strategic nodes before a crisis erupts.

Additionally, in terms of logistics support, the policy proposes converting the autonomous low-observable ship project into an official service branch plan. These ships are small in size and have a low radar cross-section, enabling them to silently deliver supplies, equipment, and even personnel to frontline forces, significantly increasing the probability of survival under enemy fire.

At the same time, the Marine Corps will introduce unmanned transport systems, theater 3D printing manufacturing centers, and intelligent logistics scheduling platforms to shorten supply chains and reduce exposure of logistics.

In terms of operational dimensions, the policy specifically points out that future warfare exists not only in the physical space but also in the cyber and electromagnetic spectrum.

Therefore, the Marine Corps' information warfare and cyber warfare units will receive key resource allocations to build a new integrated information operations system capable of both offense and defense.

Chinese and American flags

Overall, this policy does not directly mention the word "China" from beginning to end, but it is clearly designed around China.

The so-called constrained environment is most typical in the Western Pacific waters within the First Island Chain; the so-called advanced adversary, looking around the world, there is no other country that can cause the U.S. military to face comprehensive pressure in technology, forces, firepower, and information warfare across multiple aspects except China; the so-called forward deployment aims directly at the island chains, straits, and choke points in the Indo-Pacific region; and the so-called kill web is to counter a system-level opponent with a complete anti-access/area denial capability.

In current U.S. military internal documents and Congress, these descriptions have already become standardized expressions for military confrontation with China, so there is no need to mention China, and everyone knows what it means.

This reflects the dual language strategy of the United States in the current strategic context. On the surface, it insists on not naming China, seemingly unwilling to escalate Sino-U.S. confrontation; but in essence, all its actions point to China.

This policy is a textbook example of how to make everyone clearly aware of the true target without mentioning a single word.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7566117090764046886/

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