I was given this document and its a good read.
Quite honestly I'm still chewing on it but one thing is without doubt. Marine Corps armor is suffering. The wing is in much better shape than our ground vehicle fleet. This paper makes the case that the F-35 will enable an MEU to be magnitudes more effective than it is today.
Awesome.
But you still have to cross the beaten zone, close with the enemy and destroy him.
The AAV has been great but its not up to the task. Can we make the AV-8B work while we delay the F-35 and get our armor together?
I think so.
But I'll chew on this some more and see where I land. Make no mistake. Its not about the F-35, its about a procurement holiday, a failed leap ahead in tech (because the EFV failed) and a struggle to get a vehicle that is at least EQUAL to what our allies are fielding. If you can get me the MPC and ACV while keeping the F-35 flowing then awesome. If one must be delayed then put the F-35 on back burner and get me armor!
As i said before,any delays to the F-35 will have reprocussions...price will go up and partners (USN included) will bail out of the program.
ReplyDeleteI like the MPC because it will be off the shelf and available soon IF the USMC gets the budget
I did not like the EFV one bit...it was doomed to fail the moment the unit cost reached + or - 22 million dollars...REALLY an IFV that costs that much in a world where terrorist have advanced weapons?(from WIKIPEDIA-According to various reports, Hezbollah is armed with anti-tank guided missiles, namely, the Russian-made AT-3 Sagger, AT-4 Spigot, AT-5 Spandrel, AT-13 Saxhorn-2 'Metis-M', АТ-14 Spriggan 'Kornet'; Iranian-made Ra'ad (version of AT-3 Sagger), Towsan (version of AT-5 Spandrel), Toophan (version of BGM-71 TOW); and European-made MILAN missiles. These weapons have been used against IDF soldiers, causing many of the deaths during the 2006 Lebanon War.[166] A small number of Saeghe-2s (Iranian-made version of M47 Dragon) were also used in the war.[167]
For air defense, Hezbollah has anti-aircraft weapons that include the ZU-23 artillery and the man-portable, shoulder-fired SA-7 and SA-18 surface-to-air missile (SAM).[168] One of the most effective weapons deployed by Hezbollah has been the C-802 anti-ship missile.[169)
So thinking about this the 46 kms range in the sea and its speed in the water did not mean saffety against terrorists...I have to wonder about its use against a peer nation...
Most IFVs and APC cost below 5 million,so the Marine Corps was really living «la vida loca» with the EFV.If the ACV is something arround the «normal price tag» of and armored vehicle i am its fan .If its something arround or abouve 10 million forget about it.It will only hurt the USMC.
In conclusion ,the ONLY way the USMC will perform an amphibious forced entry in our days will be under the umbrella of its aviation:meaning that the F-35 and the gunship helicopters will be more neaded that ever.
As France is showing in Mali,cheap affordable armored vehicles are very effective...
The USMC shoud be thinking in vehicles like:BvS10,Patria,M-113,Cv-90,ERC-90,etc...
The USMC should be in first place an highly mobile and aggressive strike force capable of storming the enemy with mobility and fire power...not gadgets like the EFV...
the price you site from wikipedia is garbage. it was still in development so thats not even close to what the real cost would be but what if it is good. think about this. one F-35 could buy how many EFV's? even at 22 mil? what if production cuts the price in half then how many? you can talk anti-tank missiles but its a threat no matter what you're driving. the Israeli experience is not a good example either. they got out of the combined arms game and because they did they had no coordination between infantry and armor. Israeli infantry should have been out killing those anti-tank teams. but no, instead they ran tanks through tight country and the tanks paid the price by getting in complex ambushes with multiple missiles against a single tank. remember the terrorist win if they can kill one Merkava. doesn't matter if they lost ground and the operation was unsuccessful. one good pic for tv and they win. everyone of the vehicles you listed is a non-starter. the ERC-90 is at best a patrol car...nothing better than a JLTV except it has a bigger gun. operationally its trash. only the CV-90 is a winner but it can't swim.
ReplyDeletewe part company on this subject.
I understand that AEI is a big time supporter of F35. Ok, but still not sure if they really explain how F35B helps Marine Corps. Does the Marine Corps amphibs become small carriers and are they to present different angles/routes to attack China? Sounds like it to me. How do these small amphibs survive multiple attacks from Chinese ASM forces? Does it propose selling/basing F35Bs in Taiwan? You probably should base troops there also if not, I don't really see how the island survives a landing assault from Chinese forces,just because they have some F35Bs. I still look like to see the trade offs to be made and as I posted before, Marine Corps is more than a few F35s and V22s, they don't do you any good if the troops and the gear are hundreds of miles behind...What do you think of the Iveco Suprav?
ReplyDelete