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| Lockheed Martin Havoc sporting an Elbit 30mm RWS. |
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| BAE SuperAV. |
First. This should be a two vehicle race. Lockheed Martin's Havoc versus BAE's SuperAV. Sorry SAIC. I don't see the Terrex fully meeting requirements and I don't think that you would be able to get enough production stateside to jump through the Congressional hoops that will be placed in front of you to be competitive.
General Dynamics. You guys are pathetic. You're basically hiding your vehicle from public view, in other competitions you're mailing it in with tired, old, busted designs that are not worthy of being considered and the last competition that you did win (the Brits contest) was based on a pure price shoot out. The ASCOD is not competitive with the CV90. You know it, we know it and the Brits knew it. You won simply because you low balled everyone and they ignored the requirements that they laid out. I expect the same with the Marine Personnel Carrier Contest and for that reason alone I would disqualify you.
But all this brings me back to the Havoc and the SuperAV.
We have a tremendous opportunity here.
We can re purpose our LAR Battalions and make them what they were originally and should be again. Light Armored Infantry Battalions.
It will require a couple of things to happen. First we'll have to divest ourselves of the LAV-25. I don't see that as a problem. We need a more capable vehicle that can carry more infantry anyway. We also don't need a force that performs the Army's Calvary mission of screening and reconning by fire. We're a truly combined force. Aviation assets (to include UAVs) can perform that mission. What we need are highly mobile infantry that can zoom around battlefields in a distributed battlefield and provide reinforcements to our infantry battalions mounted in AAVs during deliberate attacks.
What this will require in the end is a better explanation of our force requirements. More billets will have to be alloted to the newly formed LAI Battalions to get them up to strength. We will also need to explain to the powers that be that because the EFV was cancelled and because we're upgrading the AAV and buying a cost effective ACV, we no longer need a stop gap.
We will be buying a full allotment of ACVs. About 1000. And will need a full allotment of MPCs to replace the LAV-25.
Congress will go for it especially if the jobs from the production of these vehicles is in the US and we properly present the idea of this making the Marine Corps more combat effective than our current formations.
Cancelling the JLTV should help pay for some of the bill. Not buying $50 dollar rifle slings should help too.
