Amphibious Landing

The Marines want the new expeditionary fighting vehicle very badly. It has the speed and design to be launched far from the shore.

This DID report is a good summary of it.

The Navy wants to launch the EFVs so far from shore to give our ships time for two anti-missiles shots at any incoming missiles from shore. I'd wondered about the protective rationale for this and I buy this reason. But it does not sway me overall as to the value of the EFV as the silver bullet solution to Marine needs, as I argue in that post. The EFV is a large-capacity casualty generator not apparently much better in land survivability than the AAV it replaces. One mine or direct shot and 20 Marines could die.

The Marines insist they need a new vehicle to move Marines to shore quickly and allow them to fight inland while keeping pace with Abrams main battle tanks. Thus the expensive EFV.

The Marines are being tugged between the mission of amphibious landings that have a glorious history from World War II to Inchon in 1950 and the mission of fighting as a second army with the United States Army where the only salt water getting on uniforms is from sweat. Other than small unopposed landings, this army-like mission has been what the Marines have done for over fifty-five years.

I disagree with the conclusion that the Marines need the EFV to carry out these two missions. The Marines need the capability to move quickly to shore and then to fight inland mounted under armor with their tanks. Why must these two missions be accomplished with a single vehicle that has compromised design trying to achieve both missions?

Why not build the new EFV that gets the Marines to shore and a dozen miles inland; and use Bradleys for the mobile mission with the tanks? Sure, you'd need to split Marine squads into two parts to fit in two Bradleys, but the Bradleys are proven survivable infantry fighting machines. I have felt this way for a good three years now and see no reason to change my mind.

I don't like the EFV. For all its good qualities getting Marines to the beach from the amphibious ships, once in a ground fight against an opponent with decent anti-tank capabilities, the EFVs will just blow up.

Buy EFVs in smaller numbers to equip transport units for the landing mission and equip other transport units with Bradleys to fight inland either after the landing or instead of it as every major Marine campaigns has been since Inchon.