This Be Interesting
A call to redesign the Marines Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (or else). Via Danger Room:
Dr. Craig Hooper, a lecturer at the Naval Postgraduate School, says the EFV “in its current guise, is a fragile, forcible entry weapon of little other use.”
A posterchild for next-war-itis, it is neither optimized for land warfare nor the contested maritime economic zones and militarily useful atolls expected to loom large in future Marine Corps operations.
A “more seaworthy” EFV, Hooper writes in the current issue of Proceedings, should be paired with “emerging logistical platforms” such as Navy catamarans, “equipped to deploy, recover and service a small swarm of EFVs … as low-budget littoral warfighters.”
Though i cringe at the thought of continued purchase of these overpriced high tech hardware, the idea of putting the Marines back on real fighting warships, especially new catamarans which might just revive the surface, is extremely intriguing. Pirates, don’t get too comfortable in your shallow water haunts!
That would jibe with the Navy’s and Marines’ emerging strategy emphasizing “distributed” operations in near-shore waters, using self-sufficient LPD-17 landing ships, speedy V-22 tiltrotors and Littoral Combat Ships carrying companies of Marines in a yet-to-be-designed transport module.
Though I cringe at the thought of continued purchase of these overpriced high tech hardware, the idea of putting the Marines back on real fighting warships, especially new catamarans which might just revive the surface fleet, is extremely intriguing. Pirates, don’t get too comfortable in your shallow water haunts!
Mike news flash! Marines have been embarked on the HSV WestPac Express since she was first chartered over 7 yrs ago! They form a ships platoon for cargo handling, pax support, C3 and FP if needed.
BTW the WPE carriies almost a battalion minus vehicles of Marines. JHSV might carry a Marine company with gear? LCS can’t without serious mods.
The key fact I took away from the USNI article about EFVs was that they are meant to be on land 80% of the time. IF that is the case then why are the Marines spending so damn much money to get them to go fast over the water? I know they are concerned about the threat to assault vehicles while transiting ot the beach. Speed was the desired solution for that and the other reason of distance to be traveled. Ok, there are several high speed lighters other than an LCAC which the next gen assualt vehicle could ride on to the beach. The EFV (and its replacement) should be configured to fight modern land battles not to go fast in/over water.
Someone smart must have done an analysis about the extent of exposure? Dig it out and reexamne it.
I think the Navy/Marines are more interested in preserving their Big Ships than they are the little EFVs, which have farther and farther to sail to shore as we abandon the littorals. This is the continued effect of the cruise missile on warfare at sea. If they keep this up, pretty soon our giant fleet of battleships will be all the way back into port!