I've been sitting on the latest news about the AAV Upgrade for a few days...almost a week now. I needed to chew on it for a bit. I've reached my conclusions but check this out from Defense Industry Daily (read the entire article..well worth your time).
The USMC needs to keep its 40+ year old AAV Amtracs in service, after destroying the EFV amphibious armored personnel carrier replacement program in 2011 with over-ambitious requirements. Iraq taught the USMC that the Amtracs didn’t offer enough protection, and so the latest refurbishment effort plans to improve the AAVP-7A1 personnel carrier’s protection levels. Deliveries are expected to take place between 2018 – 2023…The Marine Corps is going full speed ahead with an F-35 that is not ready for combat, yet will slow walk UPGRADES to the AAV?
Deliveries of this supposed upgrade is to take place between 2018 and 2023?
Totally unsat.
General Amos has totally screwed up the AAV/MPC/ACV programs. While he focused on the F-35 like a laser, he neglected the Ground Combat Element and has made the MTVR the vehicle of choice for Marines acting in an expeditionary environment.
This will rank high as a serious failure of his tenure in office....one of many.
For those that believe that the F-35 hasn't wrecked the USMC's budget I present this as item #1. That airplane has gobbled up the USMC and if it doesn't deliver as promised the pain will be enduring. Again from the DID article....
Phase 1.2′s timing will coincide with the beginning of a demographic fiscal crunch, in parallel with increased operations and maintenance costs for the high-maintenance platforms (esp. MV-22 and F-35B) the USMC has been buying lately. That doesn’t augur well, and implies that the AAV7 fleet will remain important for a long time.Leadership inside the Marine Corps remained silent while the air wing consumed an ever larger portion of the budget.
That is now set in stone.
We will be lucky to even get upgrades to the AAV, and I now doubt whether we will even be able to afford the Marine Personnel Carrier if that program is allowed to continue.
The air power zealots have won.
Our only hope is that a REAL Marine will be appointed as Commandant in 5 months. Additionally we'll have to hope that he has the fortitude to buck the SecDef and reverse direction on several of Amos' initiatives.
We'll see.
