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In an earlier discussion of the defense budget, I mentioned that the Marine Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle had been exempted from the cuts. This was curious, because the EFV is over-budget and effectiveness-challenged. The motivating concept of the EFV is that the Marine Corps needs an armored vehicle that can move fast on land and in the water, all while carrying a gun and a squad of Marines. The idea is that the EFV can be deployed from an offshore amphibious assault ship, move across water at about 30mph, then move on land at about 45mph. The Marines believe that the EFV is key to being able to carry out amphibious invasions.Via Armchair Generalist, it appears that Robert Gates is targeting the EFV, in spite of the fact that it wasn't mentioned in his budget memo:
I have also directed the QDR team to be realistic about the scenarios where direct U.S. military action would be needed – so we can better gauge our requirements. One of those that will be examined closely is the need for a new capability to get large numbers of troops from ship to shore – in other words, the capability provided by the Marine Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle. No doubt, it was a real strategic asset during the first Gulf War to have a flotilla of Marines waiting off Kuwait City – forcing Saddam’s army to keep one eye on the Saudi border, and one eye on the coast. But we have to take a hard look at where it would be necessary or sensible to launch another major amphibious action again. In the 21st century, how much amphibious capability do we need?On the narrow front, this means that the Marine Corps should be very concerned about it's EFV; Gates doesn't even seem to believe that the mission is relevant, which spells trouble for the difficult platform. In broader terms, this suggests that Gates envisions much wider program cuts than he suggested in the budget memo. Programs that escaped that first series of cuts cannot, it appears, breathe easy. Since the US defense budget remains enormous by global standards, I can't say that this disappoints me.--Robert Farley
