It’s now called the EFV, Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle, but when I worked on it,^* it was called the AAAV, the Advanced Amphibious Assault Vehicle.

In any case, this program is yet another long term defense development program that is seriously screwed up.

The Marines just signed a, “$766.8 million cost-plus-incentive-fee contract,” for two prototypes under the, “system development and demonstration-2 phase”, which means that the original SDD did not work out so well.

The program has been delayed IOC in 2015 and full operational capability in 2025, which is a 35 year development track, and while the Senate is moving toward accelerating production, the House is looking at cutting funding.

Every single service has a jewel of acquisition programs, and they are all in trouble, with the EFV for the Marines, the DDG-1000 for the Navy, the FCS-MGV for the Army, and the F-22 (and to a lesser degree the F-35 and tanker) for the USAF.

Our defense procurement system is broken.

^*Yes, I have worked everywhere. Maybe I can’t hold down a job, but more likely this has been my role as “technical hit man”, where you are parachuted in to take care of a specific need.