June 20, 2006:
The U.S. Marine Corps is sharply reducing its order for its new EFV (Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle). Instead of buying 1,013 EFVs, the order will be cut 44 percent to 565. High development expenses have resulted in per vehicle cost of over $12 million.
The marines ordered the first 15 production models of its EFV last Fall. This amphibious armored vehicle was previously called the AAAV (Advanced Amphibious Assault Vehicle). Weighing nearly 36 tons, the EFV is 10.5 feet tall, 12 feet wide and just under 30 feet long. It's armed with a 30mm automatic cannon (MK34 Bushmaster) and a 7.62 mm co-axial machine gun. The EFV also has better armor protection and electronics than the AAV7 is replaces..
The EFV has been in development for nearly a decade, and has been delayed largely because of a complex water-jet propulsion system which allows it to travel at 60 kilometers an hour while in the water. This capability was specified to reduce the danger (from enemy fire) when the EFVs were moving from their transports to shore, a distance of 30-50 kilometers. The additional gear required for the water jet system made the vehicle less robust and reliable, and fixing those problems has taken a lot of time. Otherwise, the EFV is basically a truly amphibious Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV), similar to the army's smaller M-2 Bradley. The EFV has a crew of three, and carries 18 passengers.
The current force of 1,057 AAV7s entered service three decades ago and are falling apart. Moreover, some two thirds of the AAV7s saw service in Iraq, where they got as much use in two months as they normally did in two years of peacetime operations. In response to this, most of the AAV7s are being refurbished, so they can still be used until the end of the decade, when enough EFVs will be entering service to replace the older vehicles. The EFVs will start entering service in 2008. The EFV is about 25 percent heavier than the AAV7, and somewhat larger. It also costs over three times as much as the $2.5 million AAV7 (taking inflation into account).
The marines apparently feel they can get by with half as many amphibious armored vehicles because future wars are likely to be more dependent on delivering troops by air, or moving them around in armored hummers.