thedrifter
02-14-06, 11:53 AM
February 20, 2006
EFV could roll out by end of decade
By Christian Lowe
Times staff writer
It’s supposed to be able to rumble over the most punishing terrain with ease, sending computer-stabilized 30mm tank-busting rounds downrange with lethal efficiency.
It should jet across the ocean so fast you could water ski behind it.
Its personnel compartment should be so comfortable that even sea sickness-prone leathernecks could leave their barf bags at home.
And it looks more likely that the Corps will see its new Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle by the end of the decade, now that the Pentagon has blessed the program with money to buy 15 next year.
With a welcome flourish of the budgeteer’s pen, the Pentagon inserted more than $230 million to purchase the 15 vehicles in its fiscal 2007 budget proposal, ramping up to 100 of the high-tech replacements for the 1970s-era amphibious assault vehicle by 2011. Although that’s eight fewer EFVs than program officials had hoped for, it reverses a trend over the past several years to delay purchase of the EFV and use the savings to pad other budget areas.
“Sometimes, people jokingly refer to us as the ‘Bank of EFV,’” said Col. Mike Brogan, who runs the $10 billion EFV program, during a Feb. 7 interview. “When you’re the largest program in the Marine Corps … that’s where they go when they don’t have anyplace else to go to make other affordability decisions.”
The EFV program has hit rough seas during its nearly decade-long development, with engineers continually refining the computer-copious vehicle as new problems crop up. Last year’s budget cuts and the delayed production date reflected what Marine officials concluded was “a more realistic schedule” to get the kinks worked out.
The $10.1 million EFV is manufactured by Woodbridge, Va.-based General Dynamics Land Systems. The Marine Corps plans to buy 1,013 through 2020.
Productive downtime
Though disappointed by last year’s budget cut, Brogan said engineers used the extra time to refine the vehicle’s complex weapons and control systems and put the EFV through some real-world tests. Some technical glitches in November 2004 with the hull electronics unit — what Brogan called the “brain of the vehicle” — locked the EFV into a high-speed left-hand turn, “which can sometimes be a little disconcerting to the operator,” Brogan chuckled.
The electronics problem, and another issue with hydraulic lines, were eventually worked out. But in the latest blow to a program that’s been trying to pull itself out of the developmental doldrums, Brogan admitted he may have to delay some key tests of the EFV up to three months, because the infantry unit tabbed to help him is set to deploy to Iraq.
Last fall, testers put the EFV through a battery of tests using infantry Marines from the Camp Pendleton, Calif.-based 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion.
A reinforced rifle squad of 17 leathernecks — loaded with their full complement of weapons, ammunition and overnight gear — was packed into the tight confines of an EFV and driven around on a water course and a land course. A similar load of leathernecks was bundled into an amtrac, and the two vehicles were tested side-by-side.
After each hour-long mission, the Marines spilled out of the vehicles and fired shots on a range, and the results were compared.
Every time, the Marines’ scores went up, with the EFV grunts scoring higher than those aboard the AAV.
Many have argued that the tight personnel compartment in the EFV — with its center-mounted engine and electronics-filled bulkheads — is so cramped that Marines would barely be able to function when they squeezed their way out. But the results of the shoot-off proved otherwise.
Brogan had hoped to begin operational assessment testing early this year, but with the lack of infantry Marines to help the program, he may have to wait until the end of the year for the final approval needed to begin producing the 15 vehicles funded for 2007.
The program is still set for its final exam in 2009.
Ellie
EFV could roll out by end of decade
By Christian Lowe
Times staff writer
It’s supposed to be able to rumble over the most punishing terrain with ease, sending computer-stabilized 30mm tank-busting rounds downrange with lethal efficiency.
It should jet across the ocean so fast you could water ski behind it.
Its personnel compartment should be so comfortable that even sea sickness-prone leathernecks could leave their barf bags at home.
And it looks more likely that the Corps will see its new Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle by the end of the decade, now that the Pentagon has blessed the program with money to buy 15 next year.
With a welcome flourish of the budgeteer’s pen, the Pentagon inserted more than $230 million to purchase the 15 vehicles in its fiscal 2007 budget proposal, ramping up to 100 of the high-tech replacements for the 1970s-era amphibious assault vehicle by 2011. Although that’s eight fewer EFVs than program officials had hoped for, it reverses a trend over the past several years to delay purchase of the EFV and use the savings to pad other budget areas.
“Sometimes, people jokingly refer to us as the ‘Bank of EFV,’” said Col. Mike Brogan, who runs the $10 billion EFV program, during a Feb. 7 interview. “When you’re the largest program in the Marine Corps … that’s where they go when they don’t have anyplace else to go to make other affordability decisions.”
The EFV program has hit rough seas during its nearly decade-long development, with engineers continually refining the computer-copious vehicle as new problems crop up. Last year’s budget cuts and the delayed production date reflected what Marine officials concluded was “a more realistic schedule” to get the kinks worked out.
The $10.1 million EFV is manufactured by Woodbridge, Va.-based General Dynamics Land Systems. The Marine Corps plans to buy 1,013 through 2020.
Productive downtime
Though disappointed by last year’s budget cut, Brogan said engineers used the extra time to refine the vehicle’s complex weapons and control systems and put the EFV through some real-world tests. Some technical glitches in November 2004 with the hull electronics unit — what Brogan called the “brain of the vehicle” — locked the EFV into a high-speed left-hand turn, “which can sometimes be a little disconcerting to the operator,” Brogan chuckled.
The electronics problem, and another issue with hydraulic lines, were eventually worked out. But in the latest blow to a program that’s been trying to pull itself out of the developmental doldrums, Brogan admitted he may have to delay some key tests of the EFV up to three months, because the infantry unit tabbed to help him is set to deploy to Iraq.
Last fall, testers put the EFV through a battery of tests using infantry Marines from the Camp Pendleton, Calif.-based 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion.
A reinforced rifle squad of 17 leathernecks — loaded with their full complement of weapons, ammunition and overnight gear — was packed into the tight confines of an EFV and driven around on a water course and a land course. A similar load of leathernecks was bundled into an amtrac, and the two vehicles were tested side-by-side.
After each hour-long mission, the Marines spilled out of the vehicles and fired shots on a range, and the results were compared.
Every time, the Marines’ scores went up, with the EFV grunts scoring higher than those aboard the AAV.
Many have argued that the tight personnel compartment in the EFV — with its center-mounted engine and electronics-filled bulkheads — is so cramped that Marines would barely be able to function when they squeezed their way out. But the results of the shoot-off proved otherwise.
Brogan had hoped to begin operational assessment testing early this year, but with the lack of infantry Marines to help the program, he may have to wait until the end of the year for the final approval needed to begin producing the 15 vehicles funded for 2007.
The program is still set for its final exam in 2009.
Ellie