"Part of the homework that the Navy and Marine Corps done over the past six months is how we think we are going to need to operate in the future as an integrated naval force and that means the Marine Corps assumes a role that we have not had in the past 20 years which is how do we contribute to sea control and sea denial," Berger told lawmakers. “The Tomahawk missile is one of the tools that is going to allow us to do that." "It could be the answer, it could be the first step towards a longer-term answer five, six, seven years from now, but what we need is long-range precision fires for a small unit, a series of units that can from ship or from shore hold adversaries’ naval force at risk," he added. In recent years, there has been a significant revival of interest within the Marine Corps, as well as the U.S. Army, in ground-based anti-ship capabilities, especially for use in a distributed warfare environment, such as a major conflict across the wide expanses of the Pacific region.

DOD A basic breakdown of Navy and Marine Corps Tomahawk acquisition plans from the 2021 Fiscal Year budget proposal compared to the previous two fiscal cycles.

US Navy A portion of the Navy's 2021 Fiscal Year budget proposal covering Marine Corps "artillery weapon system" procurement, which notes "Missile procurement details are held at higher classification."