House Armed Services chairman's mark pushes back on Marine Corps MUX request

House lawmakers are proposing to slash the funding request for a major Marine Corps unmanned aircraft research and development effort by $15 million, according to the chairman's mark of the fiscal year 2019 defense policy bill.

House authorizers recommend granting only $10.3 million of the $25.3 million requested for the Marine Air Ground Task Force Unmanned Expeditionary program, also called MUX.

"The committee believes the Marine Corps underestimates the required communications, data link, launch, mission execution, and recovery infrastructure, or the human capital resources required to train, operate, maintain, and sustain such a system," the chairman's mark states. "The Marine Corps also underestimates the necessary human capital resources required to meet current deployment-to-dwell policy and guidance issued by the secretary of defense."

Further, lawmakers propose having the chairman of the Joint Requirements Oversight Council brief them on similar capabilities throughout the joint force and explain why those capabilities would not satisfy Marine Corps requirements.

The chairman's mark also requires Navy Secretary Richard Spencer to brief lawmakers on the Marine Corps' acquisition and funding strategy for MUX.

The group 5 unmanned air vehicle has a wide range of capabilities to fill and mission sets to meet.

"The future MUX [unmanned aerial vehicle] system will provide a weaponized, payload flexible, shipboard capable/expeditionary system that is runway independent for all weather, long range/persistence, operations from the sea in a contested environment," according to Navy budget documents.

"This next generation UAV capability will have far greater range, endurance, altitude, and payload capability than the current conventional [vertical-take off-and-landing] technology can provide from air capable ships."

The service hopes to pare down its requirements through a request for information released in March and a planned industry day in June, Inside the Navy reported.

Lt. Gen. Robert Walsh, deputy commandant for combat development and integration, told ITN last month the Marine Corps is using similar engagement strategies as it did with the armored reconnaissance vehicle.

"We are involving them [industry] much more up front in developing what that requirement will be," Walsh said.

Navy budget documents indicate the service's request for MUX research will not slow down in the future years defense program with $26 million in FY-20, $26 million in FY-21, $24 million in FY-22 and $61 million in FY-23.