{"id":21513,"date":"2020-12-23T20:33:51","date_gmt":"2020-12-23T20:33:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2020\/12\/23\/lawmakers-slash-funding-for-marine-corps-long-range-fires-development\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T21:57:36","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T21:57:36","slug":"lawmakers-slash-funding-for-marine-corps-long-range-fires-development","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2020\/12\/23\/lawmakers-slash-funding-for-marine-corps-long-range-fires-development\/","title":{"rendered":"Lawmakers slash funding for Marine Corps\u2019 long-range fires development"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2014 Despite <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/land\/2020\/12\/15\/high-ranking-house-lawmakers-press-to-restore-funds-to-marine-corps-long-range-fires-efforts\/\" target=_blank>a push from a group of powerful House lawmakers<\/a>, the final defense spending bill for fiscal year 2021 \u2014 released Dec. 21 \u2014 slashes the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/land\/2020\/12\/15\/high-ranking-house-lawmakers-press-to-restore-funds-to-marine-corps-long-range-fires-efforts\/\" target=_blank>Marine Corps\u2019 efforts<\/a> to develop <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/naval\/2020\/02\/12\/heres-the-us-marine-corps-plan-for-sinking-chinese-ships-with-drone-missile-launchers\/\" target=_blank>long-range precision fires capabilities<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe logic here doesn\u2019t make much sense,\u201d Wisconsin Republican Rep. Michael Gallagher, a House Armed Services Committee member, said in a statement to Defense News. \u201cThis year\u2019s spending package increases funding where the Marine Corps sought reductions and makes reductions where they sought increases. If the Commandant doesn\u2019t have the resources to implement his planning guidance \u2014 a strategy that has bipartisan support \u2014 it\u2019s impossible to actually implement the National Defense Strategy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Gallagher and House Republican Conference Chair Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., led 10 members who signed a letter addressed to House and Senate Appropriations Committee leadership, urging the committee working to finalize the FY21 Defense Appropriations Act to reconsider cuts to the Marines\u2019 long-range precision fires programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Virginia, who is the ranking member on the HASC Seapower and Projection Forces subcommittee, and Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-Missouri, who serves as the ranking member on the HASC Tactical Air and Land Forces subcommittee, also signed the Dec. 14 letter, which was obtained by Defense News.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But the final spending bill contained no funding for Marine Corps Tomahawk procurement and had substantial cuts to the research and development effort for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/naval\/2020\/03\/05\/to-combat-the-china-threat-us-marine-corps-declares-ship-killing-missile-systems-its-top-priority\/\" target=_blank>Ground-Based Anti-Ship Missiles (GBASM).<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Marines had requested $125 million for Tomahawks and $64 million for GBASM as well as $75 million for long-range fires. The final bill essentially cuts the GBASM budget in half and trims almost $20 million for LRPF research and development \u2014 roughly a 25 percent cut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the same time, the bill adds $250 million for two CH-53K King Stallion heavy-lift cargo helicopters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The commandant, in describing his priorities, said the Marine Corps will need to reduce its heavy-lift capacity as part of its efforts to transform the force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">LRPF capability is expected to play a highly important role in the Indo-Pacific theater and is \u201cat the heart of the Commandant\u2019s Planning Guidance,\u201d the letter noted, \u201cwhich calls for a revolutionary shift in the Marine Corps\u2019 mission from amphibious forcible entry to sea denial in contested littorals.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The commandant has emphasized that ground-based LRPF, with no less than a 350 nautical mile range, is what is required to properly defend against an adversary such as China in the Pacific region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Marine Corps had planned to move quickly on GBASM and wanted to field an operational battery by FY23. Such a timeline requires the continued launcher development and missile procurement in FY21 to account for missile long-lead production timelines of 24 months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While the Army has made <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/digital-show-dailies\/global-force-symposium\/2019\/03\/26\/army-to-prioritize-long-range-missile-capability-to-go-after-maritime-targets\/\" target=_blank>LRPF its top modernization priority,<\/a> some argue that it\u2019s beneficial for both <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/digital-show-dailies\/ausa\/2020\/10\/14\/are-the-us-army-and-us-marine-corps-competing-for-missions-in-the-pacific\/\" target=_blank>the Army and Marine Corps to prioritize LRPF<\/a> and that it is far from duplicative, but rather complementary, especially when considering different combatant command perspectives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Meanwhile, like the Marines, the Army has also tried to back away from a focus on its heavy-lift aircraft, attempting for two years to curb its CH-47 Chinook cargo helicopter purchases by not buying the newest variant for the active force, opting instead to supply the Block II versions only to special operations units.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But both<a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/land\/2020\/11\/12\/congress-poised-to-bolster-cargo-helo-program-as-army-holds-steady-on-decision-to-scale-back\/\" target=_blank> congressional authorizers and appropriators have reversed the service\u2019s desire to cut cargo helicopter buys<\/a> in favor of funding two ambitious efforts to procure a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/land\/2020\/12\/10\/army-preps-for-competition-limited-to-bell-and-sikorsky-for-long-range-assault-helicopter\/\" target=_blank>Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft <\/a>and a<a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/smr\/army-modernization\/2020\/03\/25\/lockheed-and-bell-will-compete-head-to-head-to-build-us-armys-future-attack-recon-aircraft\/\" target=_blank> Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2019, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/land\/2019\/04\/17\/the-army-has-a-plan-for-china-and-its-bad-news-for-jltv-and-the-chinook\/\" target=_blank>then-Army Secretary Mark Esper made the case for a shift in focus away from heavy-lift aircraft<\/a> and vehicles like the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle designed for the fight in Iraq and Afghanistan and instead focus on capability geared toward high-end conflict with adversaries like China and Russia. And the budget for FY20 reflected that shift with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/smr\/federal-budget\/2019\/03\/14\/army-plans-to-stop-building-newest-ch-47-variant-in-fy20-except-for-special-ops\/\" target=_blank>CH-47 Block II cut.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The FY21 spending bill provides \u201csufficient\u201d funding for the first five CH-47F Block II aircraft and advance procurement funding for long-lead materials for a second lot of five.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Despite a push from a group of powerful House lawmakers, the final defense spending bill for fiscal year 2021 \u2014 released Dec. 21 \u2014  slashes the Marine Corps\u2019 efforts to develop long-range precision fires 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By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Lawmakers slash funding for Marine Corps\u2019 long-range fires development - Defense News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Despite a push from a group of powerful House lawmakers, the final defense spending bill for fiscal year 2021 \u2014 released Dec. 21 \u2014 slashes the Marine Corps\u2019 efforts to develop long-range precision fires capabilities.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lawmakers slash funding for Marine Corps\u2019 long-range fires development\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Despite a push from a group of powerful House lawmakers, the final defense spending bill for fiscal year 2021 \u2014 released Dec. 21 \u2014 slashes the Marine Corps\u2019 efforts to develop long-range precision fires capabilities.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2020\/12\/23\/lawmakers-slash-funding-for-marine-corps-long-range-fires-development\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Defense News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-12-23T20:33:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-07T21:57:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jen Judson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jen Judson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" 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