Marine corps bids final adieu to Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle.

• Author: Erwin, Sandra I.
• Position: DEFENSEINSIDER

* The termination of the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle--announced in early January by Defense Secretary Robert Gates--was seen as a big blow to the Marine Corps' ambitious plans to modernize the force for the 21st Century.

But in reality, the end of the long-troubled program turns out to be good news for the Corps.

The EFV cancellation could free up at least $2.5 billion over the. next five years for the Marine Corps to spend on the design of a new amphibious vehicle, on improvements to the current fleet of landing craft, and on the acquisition of armored personnel carriers.

"All the money in the POM [program objective memorandum] that was dedicated to EFV remains, as of today, in the POM for use by the Marine Corps on other vehicles," said Lt. Gen. George Flynn, head of the Marine Corps' Combat Development Command in Quantico, Va.

Flynn's comments confirm what industry insiders had been saying for years: the EFV had turned into an albatross whose rising price tag was endangering other prized vehicle programs in the Marine Corps' budget.

"The program was unaffordable," Flynn said. Measured in 2011 dollars, the EFV price tag has reached $ 18 million per vehicle. When the program started in the early 1990s, officials estimated the vehicle would cost $5 million. At that rate, the EFV was on pace to consume the entire Marine Corps' procurement budget over the next decade, Flynn noted.

Facing a forecast of flat defense budgets, the Marine Corps needed to cut its...