Early morning on the western edge of the Pacific, small company-strength teams of Marines rush to remote islands in their mobile combat boats. Supported by unmanned drones (land, air and sea), US Marines engage enemy DropShips and other warships with missiles before they can unload their invading forces or advance deep into the Pacific. The target data generated by the combat boats are simultaneously passed on to their own air force and navy. These support the defensive fight with long-range missiles. To avoid potential aerial retaliation, the leathernecks change location every 48 to 72 hours by hopping from island to island. They use a new generation of amphibious combat boats that can also be remotely controlled. The small and manoeuvrable task boats are difficult for the enemy to pick up and fight, especially near the coast, because of their low signature.
Was hier wie ein Szenario aus einem neuen Tom Clancy-Roman klingt, ist in Wahrheit der Inhalt eines aktuellen Planspiels des U.S. Marine Corps (USMC). Die dort angestellten Simulationen zeigen, dass neue Taktiken und der defensive Kampf mit kleinen amphibischen Booten künftig „eine Menge Probleme“ für angreifende gegnerische Streitkräfte schaffen würde, so General David Berger, amtierender Kommandeur des USMC. „Es ist sehr schwierig, einer aufgelockerten Marineexpeditionstruppe entgegenzutreten, die klein und mobil ist“, so Berger in einem Interview im „Wall Street Journal“ im März 2020. Kritiker halten ihm derweil vor, dass sein Ansatz nur für den Kampf im westpazifischen Raum mit seinen zahlreichen Inselketten gelte, also nur für eine spezifische Region.
Not a new approach and geographically transferrable
The example of the Swedish and Finnish coastal fighters shows that Berger's approach is not new and that his theories can also be transferred to other regions of the world - and in particular to the Baltic Sea. The Finnish amphibious Nyland Brigade and the Royal Amphibious Regiment (Amf 1) have long been working together in a binational Amphibious Task Unit. Mobile shock squads have been practicing hit and run tactics with different types of combat boats for years. The geography of the eastern Baltic Sea, with its numerous rugged islands, archipelagos, rugged cliffs and fjords, is figuratively similar to that of the western Pacific. The Scandinavians practice using high-angle weapons (e.g. mortars), light missiles (e.g. Hellfire and Spike-ER), reconnaissance sensors and combat swimmers as well as mines to fight an opponent who invades their territory. Mobile small teams jump from island to island.
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