WASHINGTON, Aug 23 (Reuters) – The U.S. Marine Corps is
conducting a final review of its requirements for a new
amphibious vehicle that will bring troops from ship to shore,
and hopes to kick off a fresh competition in coming months, the
top U.S. Marine told reporters on Thursday.
“My expectation is that it will happen this fall,” Marine
Corps Commandant General James Amos told reporters, underscoring
his determination to avoid setting unaffordable or unrealistic
requirements for the new vehicle and avoid issues that plagued
the now-cancel led Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle program.
Amos said the Pentagon completed an analysis of alternatives
for the new “amphibious combat vehicle” program, or ACV, in
June, although details have not been released.
The new program could generate billions of dollars in future
orders for big weapons makers, but mounting budget pressures
could make it tough to launch any new acquisition programs in
the short term.
Amos said Marine Corps officials were finalizing their
requirements for a new vehicle to replace the Expeditionary
Fighting Vehicle, which was being developed by General Dynamics
Corp until it was cancel led by then-Defense Secretary
Robert Gates in January 2011.
“This is not a Cadillac Escalade we’re trying to build
here,” Amos said. “We want to make sure that we’re not trying to
build something that ends up with capabilities that we either
don’t need or can’t afford.”
Amos said Navy Secretary Ray Mabus and top Pentagon
officials still needed to sign off on the revamped program, but
an initial request for proposals would likely be issued this
autumn, allowing weapons makers to respond with their
suggestions for the “art of the possible.”
Amos said it was critical for the Marines to get the
requirements for the vehicle right this time to ensure Congress
supported the new acquisition program.
The Marines had initially planned to buy over 1,100
Expeditionary Fighting Vehicles, but later halved its order to
573 vehicles, only to see the program cancel led outright.
Amos did not spell out exactly how many of the new
amphibious vehicles the service planned to buy, but said the
service still had a requirement to transport 12 battalions of
Marines to shore by sea or by plane.
“We’re going to get one opportunity to do this right,” he
said. “So I want to make sure when we go to Congress with the
requirement that Congress looks at it and says, okay.”
After the new ACV enters into production, the Marines also
plan to start work on a cheaper new personnel carrier that would
be used to transport troops on the ground. Amos said the service
would also maintain some undefined number of existing vehicles
and keep them running to save money.
He underscored the importance of a Humvee replacement
program, and said the Marines could expand their plans to buy
5,000 of the new trucks in later years.
