Marines Want VTOL Family of Systems for Future Vertical Lift - USNI News

The Marine Corps have landed on a family-of-systems approach to developing its next rotary-wing fleet, as it refines requirements for its Future Vertical Lift program, service officials said on Wednesday.

After Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger issued his Commandant’s Planning Guidance in 2019, the service began reassessing its needs for Future Vertical Lift. Now, the Marine Corps is focused more on replacing capabilities rather than platforms, according to assistant deputy commandant for aviation Brig. Gen. Matt Mowery.

“Instead of thinking about strictly platform replacements, more of a capability requirement. So over the last two years we’ve really done a lot of analysis and reflection and coordination with the other services to really think about where are we going and what is the requirement that we need. So this may be the first time we’ve used this term outside of the Pentagon, but we’re not really talking [Attack Utility Replacement Aircraft] anymore. We’re talking VTOL family of systems,” Mowery said today at the National Defense Industrial Association’s annual Expeditionary Warfare Conference.