The Yankee and Zulu helicopters.
And, Excalibur.
The U.S. Marine Corps successfully fired two Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) Excalibur 155mm precision-guided artillery projectiles from a range of 36 kilometers (22.3 statute miles) in theater. These shots mark the longest distance the Excalibur round has been fired in combat since its fielding in 2007.
With more than 500 rounds fired in theater to date, Excalibur is the revolutionary family of precision projectiles for the U.S. Army and Marine Corps artillery. The Marines have significantly increased the operational use of Excalibur in the last year, firing as many as 32 rounds in one week. By integrating Excalibur into close-combat formations, U.S. forces avoid collateral damage even when warfighters are in close proximity to the target.
"Having true precision artillery that can defeat the targets – and from such a great distance – gives our warfighters the ability to engage these targets that would otherwise be out of reach," said Michelle Lohmeier, vice president of Land Combat Systems at Raytheon Missile Systems. "Raytheon developed and fielded the world's first extended-range GPS-guided artillery, and we are proud of the unprecedented precision capability Excalibur gives our warfighters."
Oh and there is also that USMC truck thing-a-magingy that has long range guided rockets on it (with GPS/INS assist) that will pulverize a whole range of targets. It can reach out to 300km with quick response and a most unpleasant result for the enemy. Could even have fun chaining one of these to the aviation deck of an LCS.
A Marine and their rifle are powerful. Even more so with that kind of backup.
I would say that without the overly expensive and faulty F-35B STOVL, fire-support options for the Marine facing the enemy look pretty good in the coming lean budget era. Just remember that the next time Amos and Trautman cry us a river.
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UPDATE- Duh. Forgot to mention the very nice USMC C-130J Harvest Hawk.
