![\"Sydney](\"https:\/\/breakingdefense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2015\/07\/IMG_3531-300x225.jpg\")
<\/p>\nEl Cuerpo de US marines est\u00e1 reorganizando su infanter\u00eda, para hacer frente a las amenazas que plantean los altamente tecnificados escenarios de combate futuro. La dispersi\u00f3n y aislamiento en que deber\u00e1n operar las fracciones, como forma de minimizar el efecto letal de las armas guiadas de precisi\u00f3n del enemigo, demanda la incorporaci\u00f3n de m\u00e1s tecnolog\u00eda y especialistas (Drones, Inteligencia, log\u00edstica, etc),\u00a0 en las peque\u00f1as fracciones.<\/p>\n
ARLINGTON: The Marine Corps is reorganizing its\u00a0infantry\u00a0for future\u00a0high-tech conflicts\u00a0in which troops must\u00a0spread out\u00a0to avoid the enemy\u2019s precision-guided firepower.<\/p>\n
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To conduct such \u201cdistributed operations,\u201d\u00a0Commandant Robert Neller\u00a0said last night, the Marines are adding technical experts \u2014 in drones, intelligence, supply, and other specialties \u2014 to small units so they can operate more independently of higher headquarters. The tradeoff comes in old-fashioned firepower: Infantry squads will shrink from 13 Marines to 12, and infantry battalions will have fewer heavy-duty support weapons such as 81 mm mortars and TOW anti-tank missile launchers.<\/p>\n
Not all the changes have been finalized, but pending a formal bulletin to the force, Neller outlined the following moves to a Marine Corps Association awards banquet:<\/p>\n
\u201cI felt like we could afford to get a little bit lighter,\u201d Neller said of the weapons company changes, speaking to reporters after the dinner, \u201cbecause of what I anticipate to be the increased range and lethality of weapons and because of other capabilities I think the squad platoon and company\u2019s going to have like\u00a0Switchblade<\/a>.\u201d Switchblade is a drone that can both scout for targets and dive on them, detonating itself (or you can think of it as a missile that can do reconnaissance).<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s Risk\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n Even with the current generous budgets, Neller said, tradeoffs are inevitable. \u201cThere\u2019s risk ,\u201d he acknowledged to reporters. \u201c(But) remember we just added a company intel cell and a log cell\u2026.a UAV\/counter-UAV team. I just added four Javelin teams (to the weapons company). I\u2019ve got to pay for that.\u201d<\/p>\n Some of these changes are already underway, said Neller, like issuing the M27. \u201cWe\u2019ll start fielding the rifle as soon as the manufacturer can get it in their hands, and then other things are going to take longer,\u201d he said. \u201cSome things will be months. Some things will be longer. It\u2019s not like we\u2019re going to wake up tomorrow and this will all be in place.\u201d<\/p>\n The M27 is\u00a0basically<\/a>\u00a0a heavier M16, with greater firepower, longer range, and more robust mechanisms. (Specifically, it replaces the M16 family\u2019s finicky gas impingement system with a conventional piston-based recoil). It was originally bought as the rifle squad\u2019s high-firepower weapon, replacing the M249 SAW (Squad Automatic Weapon, essentially a light machinegun). But now Neller will issue it to every Marine in the infantry, reconnaissance, and combat engineers. The M4 carbines freed up this way will go to non-infantry troops. Eventually, Neller said of the M4, \u201cit\u2019s going to be the weapon that we\u2019re going to give to everybody else because it\u2019s a newer weapon and it\u2019s lighter.\u201d<\/p>\n The squad\u2019s new drone operator will get the heavy-duty M27. \u201cRight now, that Marine is still an infantryman,\u201d Neller said. \u201cThey\u2019re going to have to fight\u2026They\u2019re part of the squad,\u201d with the same Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) as the other infantrymen.<\/p>\n In fact, Neller is issuing everyone in the rifle platoon the same weapon so enemy snipers can\u2019t easily pick out, say, the drone specialist or the platoon leader. \u201cI want everybody in the platoon to look the same. I don\u2019t want any bad guy to go, hey this person or that person\u2019s carrying this weapon, so shoot them first,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen I would do a battlefield circulation in Iraq (i.e. visiting frontline units), I always carried a carbine \u2014 and all my guys hoped to God I didn\u2019t have to use it \u2014 but it was camouflage.\u201d<\/p>\n There\u2019s another tradeoff here: While the M4 carbine that became standard in Iraq and Afghanistan is significantly lighter than the M16 rifle, the M27 IAR is significantly heavier, even before you add the now-standard flash suppressor. Add mini-drones, night vision devices, laser designators, and other high-tech kit,<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/breakingdefense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2014\/10\/SwitchBlade-Block10-Launches.jpg\")
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<\/p>\n![\"Marine](\"https:\/\/breakingdefense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2017\/09\/Javelin-300x169.jpg\")
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