Inside The Marines’ Radical Shift For A High-Tech Pacific Showdown

PAUL’S DEFENSE BRIEF (PDB) – Marine Corps reservists across the command’s components may see an increased emphasis on readiness as Marine Reserve Command prepares for largest wide-ranging mobilization exercises in decades set to begin next year.

Marine leaders will decide this year whether to outfit each of their divisions with a maritime reconnaissance company and novel new medium-sized ships to scope out the littorals.

Marine Corps has received the Expeditionary Directed Energy, Counter-Swarm, or ExDECS, weapon to allow it to start experiments with high-power microwave (HPM) technology in the increasingly critical low-altitude air defense (LAAD), anti-drone role.

Marine Raiders are not expected to conduct Arctic operations in the near future because they are busy in other theaters, said Gen who leads Marine Forces Special Operations Command, MARSOC.

As final tests get underway for Amphibious Combat Vehicle variants sporting 30mm cannons and crane hooks, the Marine Corps is exploring how to incorporate a counter-unmanned aerial systems capability.

Marines are looking for medium-sized cargo drones to reshape resupply missions across the far-flung islands of the Pacific.

FOR YOUR EYES ONLY – Here’s a roundup of today’s other top defense stories ending the week from conservative national security expert PAUL CRESPO.

Not the President’s Daily Brief, but almost as good – PAUL’S DEFENSE BRIEFING – the PDB:    

NATIONAL SECURITY

Some observers defend Trump’s concessionary approach to Russia as a “reverse Nixon” aimed at enticing Russia away from its “strategic partnership” with China. But it may be more of a reverse-Reagan.

Congress eyes nearly $25bn to jump start Trump’s Golden Dome plan for comprehensive missile defense of the US homeland in the coming months.

One of the biggest things holding back military AI adoption them back is that personnel really don’t understand what AI is and what it can do for them, senior officials said.

The final round of a DARPA cybersecurity competition will take inspiration from a Chinese hacking campaign discovered last year that burrowed into major US telecommunications systems.

HOMELAND SECURITY

DOD to deploy counter-drone capabilities at US-Mexico border as terror cartels surveil US troops.

US begins prosecuting illegal aliens for breaching newly created US ‘military zone’ near Mexican border.

A federal judge blasted Team Trump’s termination of immigration records for thousands of foreign students as “arbitrary and capricious,” demanding the government provide explanations as to why and how the records were terminated and what this means for students.

Trump announced a new fighter mission for an Air National Guard base in Michigan, allaying fears the base could close and delivering a win for a longtime antagonist, Democrat Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

Many US bases still lack sufficient tech to comprehensively identify, track, and engage hostile drones like those that breached the airspace of Langley Air Force Base in Virginia for days in December 2023.

The white Afrikaners lining up to accept Trump’s offer of asylum.

POLITICS

All of the Trump administration’s major moves in the first 100 days.

Trump discusses first 100 days of historic presidency in exclusive ABC interview, covering a wide range of topics from the economy to immigration, executive powers, and foreign policy.

The House Armed Services Committee voted through a $150bn boost to defense funding after Republicans shot down almost two dozen Democrat amendments that were largely a referendum of ‘Signalgate’ and Hegseth’s leadership.

PENTAGON WOKE WATCH

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ended a seven-year-old program to boost leadership roles for women within the military, blasting the initiative as a divisive, liberal focus that does not add to service readiness.

A new task force targeting anti-Christian bias at the VA was established after some VA facilities restricted sermon content and an Army Reserve chaplain was removed from duty for preaching about biblical text against homosexuality.

US POWER OVERSEAS

US Air Force bomber stalls on Japanese runway, disrupting commercial flights, reports say.

CHINA THREAT

Chinese surveillance aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles have been conducting reconnaissance flights around the Philippine Sea and off the coast of Taiwan over the past few days.

Japan and Philippines to start talks on 2 defense pacts in the face of China’s growing aggression in disputed Asian waters.

RUSSIA THREAT – UKRAINE WAR

Kremlin rejects Kyiv’s proposal for 30-day ceasefire for early May to follow the unilateral three-day ceasefire declared by Vladimir Putin.

Trump special envoy Steve Witkoff said he believes Putin sees an opportunity for the “first time in decades” for a US-Russia relationship recalibration.

Romania will add a new US-made Patriot system to its air defense arsenal, a move to bolster defenses in the strategic Black Sea region.

IRAN THREAT/MIDEAST

Operation Rough Rider: 45 Days, 1,000 targets, no end in sight to US strikes. After two years of trying, the Houthis have yet to hit a US warship. That’s not to say they haven’t been close.

UK launches strikes against Houthis in Yemen, in first joint US-UK operation since Trump escalated the US campaign against the terror group.

The Middle East’s share of global defense spending increased 15% percent in 2024, driven in part by a multi-billion jump by Israel amid a multi-front conflict.

SPACE THREAT

Space Force is moving to replace its specialized military satellites used for geostationary surveillance with systems built and operated by commercial vendors, to expand supplier diversity and tap into private sector capabilities.

A French startup is developing an air-launched spacecraft designed to intercept, capture and dispose of objects in orbit, whether they’re derelict satellites or potential threats.

INTERNATIONAL SECURITY

Thousands of Vietnamese people in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) have celebrated the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam war.

Haiti is in a political and criminal crisis that should not be ignored. A coalition of criminal gangs is close to capturing Haiti’s beleaguered capital of Port-au-Prince.

One of Indonesia’s largest nickel-mining companies, which supplies a mineral critical to the electric car industry, did not tell the public that local drinking water was polluted.

US MILITARY

Army is weighing a massive overhaul that would see a reduction in the number of general officer billets and restructure the service’s organizations charged with developing requirements and buying weapons.

Pegasus Charge – 1st Cavalry Division is helping the Army determine what the future of armored formations will look like.

Cut Army structure, not end strength. DOD should soon send Congress its “skinny budget” with a reported — and disputed — proposal to cut Army end-strength by up to 90,000 troops.

Coast Guard could see $14.6bn in new cutters, Arctic icebreakers, as part of a massive supplemental bill that could almost double the service’s Fiscal Year 2025 budget.

Northrop Grumman’s Lumberjack jet-powered one-way attack munition can drop its own precision bomblets.

END of PDB

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.

READ NEXT: [REPORT] Trump Allies Leak Aggressive New Deportation Strategy