Gates Cuts Army Combat Vehicles
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Written by Gregory L. Pacheco   
Tuesday, 14 July 2009
Defense Secretary Robert Gates has submitted a budget that scraps Army plans for new combat vehicles after spending almost $14 billion in research and development costs because they won't adequately protect troops from roadside bombs.

Gates also raised questions about the Marines' new amphibious landing craft, saying it's unclear how often forces will need to storm beaches. The Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV) has cost at least $1.2 billion in research and development.

Gates' action follows his push to accelerate delivery of Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles (MRAPs) to Iraq to replace Humvees after generals and members of Congress complained the Humvees provided inadequate protection from bombs planted by insurgents.

The failure to incorporate knowledge about improvised explosive devices which have accounted for at least half of troop deaths in Iraq and are a growing menace in Afghanistan doomed the eight types of vehicles included in the Army's Future Combat Systems.

Gates says the vehicles' flat bottoms, which sit 18 inches off the ground in the original design, reflected "no lessons learned" from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. The MRAP, by contrast, has a V-shaped hull that deflects roadside blasts and makes survivability far more likely.

The future of the Marines' vehicle is also in danger because it lacks the V-shaped hull, said Dakota Wood, a military analyst at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments.

Insurgents using roadside bombs in Iraq and Afghanistan exploited the same weakness in Humvees, the military's longtime workhorse vehicle. Flat-bottom vehicles built close to the ground absorb explosions and transmit the impact to the troops inside.

The Marines have been developing their vehicle since the mid-1990s. It holds a crew of three and is built to quickly carry 17 combat-equipped Marines from ships to shore. Total estimated research and development costs jumped from $1.5 billion in 2000 to $3.6 billion last year, the Government Accountability Office said. Per vehicle costs rose from $8 million to $23 million.

The vehicle lacks the armor needed to maximize troops' survival on land, Wood said.

IEDs are so effective, Gates told the Senate on Thursday, that "we should expect to see (them) in any future conflict."

Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Conway told reporters Wednesday that the EFV wouldn't be used "in an IED environment" and that armor can be added to it once it reached shore.
Last Updated ( Tuesday, 14 July 2009 )