New EFV Prototype Tests at Pendleton

[unhappycamper]

New EFV Prototype Tests at Pendleton
August 20, 2010
Marine Corps News

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- Approaching a black dot on the GPS system, a squawk of radio static is followed by "this is command, approaching buoy alpha." The vehicle commander replies with an affirming "roger command," and a powerful roar erupts off to the left of Col. Keith Moore's rigid-hulled inflatable boat, more commonly known as a RHIB.

The newest variant of the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle throttles all 2,700 horsepower and lifts out of the glassy water gliding like a jet ski.

Although the EFV program manager's RHIB has no problem keeping up with the 30 mph speed of the 78,000-pound EFV, it is a breathtaking advancement from its venerable predecessor, the Amphibious Assault Vehicle, which comparatively crawls at 9 mph in water.

Moore is observing a demonstration of the newest prototype, EFV Personnel Variant, System Development and Demonstration-2, at the Amphibious Vehicle Test Branch (AVTB) at Camp Del Mar. The temperate climate, rigid terrain, and access to 17 miles of coastline and live-fire ranges, makes Camp Pendleton an ideal test bed for amphibious vehicles.

"We can debark from ship, land on the beach, maneuver through the training areas and without interruption," says Sgt. Tom Bauras, a test operator and one of the vehicle crew members in the demonstration. "That's why it makes sense to have the test branch here."