A lot of stuff about the EFV recently.
I've never liked the EFV. It's too big, drinks too much fuel, is too complex and will cost way too much. But the Marine Corps has backed itself into a corner. Either replace the AAVP7A1 or be non-mission capable.
The simple fact is without some kind of Amphibious Assault Vehicle the Marines can't put troops ashore. Landing craft and Air Assault is simply too risky because the platforms are too vulnerable to enemy fire. For their lift capacity landing craft take up more room on Landing Ships while delivering less to the beach. And they have to make multiple trips, slowing down the landing operations. The number of helicopters an amphibious force can carry limits the amount of troops that can be landed as well. And there is no margin for error or margin for loses. And Air Assault troops are too lightly equipped, lack staying power and too immobile on the modern battlefield. Their lack of ground mobility becomes a huge issue when you take in account the fact that you need to land in a LZ that is far away from enemy forces. Once you land in a safe LZ you can only move slowly toward your objective and even the slightest resistance will being the assaulting force to a dead stop.
The Marines need to grow up. They need enough EFVs and MPCs (a Stryker-like APC under development) to mechanize and motorize their entire force. No ifs, ands or buts. No matter how much some people want it there is no going back to pre-1914. They also need to realized that landing one-company-at-a-time isn't good enough. The idea that you only need a few hundred, or even a few thousand troops to carry out even the most basic of military missions should be dispelled. Likewise you can't get away with light-weight, ineffective, unprotected force that lacks firepower and staying power. No matter how close you are to the beach. TF Ranger was stranded within 5 miles of the surf zone.
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