Book Description

The DOD, the Navy, and the Marines are currently conducting separate studies examining Marine Corps roles and missions, force structure, and equipment, and the results could have a significant impact on the future of the EFV. [...] Potential issues for congressional consideration include the vulnerability of the Navy's amphibious fleet and EFVs, the potential ramifications if the EFV fails its second round of operational testing, and what role to take in ongoing Marine Corps studies that could be used to determine the fate of the EFV program. [...] Based on the aforementioned early success of the program, the Marine Corps awarded a cost-plus contract to General Dynamics in July 2001 for the Systems Development and Demonstration (SDD) phase of the program. [...] In March 2007, the Marines modified the original SDD contract and awarded General Dynamics an additional $143.5 million to redesign the EFV.17 In what has been termed "the largest program setback," the Marines decided in June 2007 to repeat the entire SDD phase, meaning that instead of the original completion date of 2003, the SDD phase-if successful-will now be completed in 2011, eight years behi [...] Because the EFV passed the CDR, the go-ahead was given for the production of the seven new prototypes.