Something severely about which furiously to think: if the US Marine Corps actually gets the 420 F-35s now planned (340 F-35Bs, 80 F-35Cs) the Marines alone will likely have the largest fighter force in the “Western” world. After the USAF and USN of course.
Japan and Israel are around the same league as the USMC. A bit weird, what? But then consider the potential foes.
To be considered in the context:
Is the Pentagon Party Really Over?
Rethinking the US GWOT (aka “overseas contingency operations”)
Moreover the Marines have a lot more than fighters, again especially in comparison with other “Western” military services’ aviation components.
Mark Collins, a prolific Ottawa blogger, is a Research Fellow at the Canadian Defence & Foreign Affairs Institute
Mark Collins 3Ds Blog 