PDA

View Full Version : More bang for the bucks



thedrifter
03-11-06, 08:26 AM
More bang for the bucks
March 11,2006
CHRIS MAZZOLINI
DAILY NEWS STAFF

Rounds from a 30 mm cannon fly down range in a hurry.

The five-shot burst hit a target 1,500 meters away in seconds, the tracer rounds glowing white hot during their short life between fire and impact.

While the destructive fireworks display at Camp Lejeune’s Sandy Run firing range were impressive, the source of the damage — the developmental expeditionary fighting vehicle — was the main attraction.

“Five out of five,” yelled David M. Branham, the EFV program’s public affairs officer, who was keeping track of the target impacts from the top of the observation tower.

“I can live with that,” said Col. Mike Brogan, the EFV’s program manager.

It’s Brogan’s job to make sure the Marine Corps can live with the EFV, a cutting-edge amphibious vehicle that the Corps is hoping will redefine their battle tactics of the future.

Slated to replace the Vietnam-era amphibious assault vehicle, the EFV is faster, stronger and more lethal.

“It’s like comparing a Model-T and a Corvette, in a lot of ways,” said Lt. Col. Keith Moore, the EFV program’s deputy director.

The EFV is capable of deploying from a ship anchored 25 nautical miles off shore, far enough out that the ship isn’t even visible to the enemy, Moore said. This gives Marines the ability to maneuver in the water and hit the beach in an area that’s tactically advantageous — and then travel another 345 miles inland after reaching the shore.

The EFV has better weapons, Moore said. While the AAV had to be stationary to shoot accurately, the EFV can hit an enemy target on the move. It can also use its cannon and machine guns to protect disembarking grunts.

And Moore said the vehicle has better armor and offers more protection for passenger Marines (it can carry 17 along with the crew) who are often targeted by improvised explosive devices. It’s also a quieter ride and more comfortable — the EFV even has air conditioning.

But guns were the star of the show Friday as the EFV demonstrated its firepower. The Marines have spent the last six weeks at Lejeune conducting an operational assessment on the EFV’s weaponry. That assessment is now complete, and the vehicle will now head west to Camp Pendleton, Calif., to conduct further evaluations, including water and land maneuverability tests and “force-on-force” performances scenarios.

The EFV will undergo further testing in September to make sure General Dynamics, which designed the vehicle, met Marine Corps requirements. Pending Department of Defense approval, the vehicle should go into low-rate production before the end of the year, which would call for 100 EFVs to be built over the next four years.

The Corps is planning to buy 1,013 EFVs to replace their AAV fleet. They will outfit West Coast units first, hoping to have them combat-ready by 2010. The entire Corps is expected to be EFV-capable by 2020.

Each vehicle costs about $7 million, Moore said, though he did say that production number and rate can cause that price to fluctuate. The program manager didn’t think that number was much of a roadblock.

“We get them in the vehicle, get them out in the water … and they become believers,” Brogan said. “They aren’t so concerned for the costs anymore.”

Gunnery Sgt. Christopher Jacobs, who deployed to Iraq in 2003 with 2nd AAB and now works on testing and evaluating the EFV, said the vehicle would have been great to have during that combat tour.

“I would have loved to have a 30 mm,” he said. “Over in the desert when it’s 130 degrees, I would love to have the air conditioning. But mostly because of what the weapon system brings to the fight. Granted, when I see an AAV I give it a hug. But with this vehicle we’ve come a long ways.”

“Would I feel safe taking it to Iraq? Damn right, I would.”

Contact staff writer Chris Mazzolini at cmazzolini@freedomenc.com or 353-1171, ext. 229.

Ellie