ACV News. Whats left unsaid.

via SeaPower Magazine.

The initial models of the wheeled ACV are expected to cost $5 million to $6 million each, compared to the $12 million to $14 million cost projected for the more complex tracked vehicle the Marines had been seeking, said LtGen Kenneth J. Glueck Jr., the deputy Marine Corps commandant for Combat Development and Integration.
And by adopting one of the four commercially available wheeled troop carriers that the Marines have been testing, the service should be able to reach initial operational capability (IOC) with 204 ACVs by fiscal 2020, according to a document Glueck provided.
Talking to the Defense Writers Group, Glueck said later models of the ACV for command and control and logistics could cost more than the basic personnel transport. But he emphasized that the wheeled vehicle would be better able to operate on land, where it would spend 90 percent of its time during an amphibious or expeditionary mission, would be cheaper to sustain and better protect the Marine in it from mines and improvised explosives than the tracked vehicle.
The proposed ACV would have a water speed about equal to the tracked AAV7 assault amphibious vehicles it would replace, which churns through the sea at about 8 knots. (Editors note.  This is the same speed as LVT's used during WW2)
Although the reasons for the shift to the wheeled vehicle have been explained previously, this was the first disclosure of the likely cost and IOC for the new version of the ACV, which started out as a potentially more achievable tracked vehicle than the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV), canceled three years ago due to its soaring cost and complexity.
The revised ACV will have only “limited” amphibious capability, Glueck acknowledged, and will have to be transported close to the shore by other amphibious “connectors,” such as the landing craft air cushion, landing craft utility or the joint high-speed vessel.

Read the entire article.  But be warned.  Its nothing but spin, justification for their plan and a bunch of questions left unanswered.

As far as cost is concerned, all I have to say is really?  How is the Marine Corps going to pay for the JLTV, ACV, F-35, CH-53K, reset for the MTVR, and a myriad all programs?

Even ignoring the money issue, what does limited amphibious capability mean when you have an entire service that is based on amphibious assault?

Will this beast be able to swim 3 miles to shore or won't it.  Will it even be able to swim across rivers?  Oh and trust me.  I've seen more than a couple of LAVs end up at the bottom of the Colorado River so I don't buy amphibious just because a manufacturer says so.

With that being said will we need to go Army style and get more bridging equipment.  Will we still have the mobility to keep up with an Abrams tank cross country?  I have yet to see a wheeled vehicle pull off that feat.

These guys haven't thought this through.  Its a pity too because Glueck has a stellar reputation but this is dragging him through the mud.

I still doubt that it matters.  This smacks more and more of a legacy building project.  Amos is trying to save his reputation and he knows that this is a sore point with Marines.  It isn't working.