WASHINGTON, Jan. 6 (UPI) -- Defense Secretary Robert Gates could cancel an amphibious vehicle first conceived by the U.S. Marines more than 20 years ago, Pentagon sources said.
Gates is expected to announce new cuts in defense spending Thursday. The Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle, years behind schedule and billions of dollars over budget, is a prime candidate, The New York Times said Wednesday, citing Pentagon and industry sources.
The vehicles are being made by General Dynamics, and cancellation could mean the loss of thousands of jobs. Congress will have the last word on the project's fate.
The vehicles would be able to carry 17 marines from a ship as much as 25 miles offshore to the beach and then to keep moving. They would replace older landing craft.
But the project has been delayed by the technical difficulty of developing something that would be effective on both sea and land. Gates also appears to believe that amphibious assaults, common in World War II and the Korean War, are less likely in the future.
