The US military have spent the last decade working on the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle-- a multimi

(14 Dec 2008) HEADLINE: New Marines vehicle goes from sea to land CAPTION: The US military have spent the last decade working on the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle-- a multimillion dollar machine that can move from a body of water to land. (Dec. 11) [Notes:ANCHOR VOICE] For the past ten years, the Marines have wanted this multimillion-dollar vehicle ... built to ship Marines from sea to land. It's almost 20 feet high. And weighs about 76 thousand pounds. One cylinder on this engine is enough to power a Camaro. And these two 23 inch water propulsion systems can pump one hundred thousand gallons of water a minute. That's just some of what it takes to get this vehicle flying above the water at nearly 30 miles per hour. Sergeant Christian Button has been working with this vehicle for the last six months. He says the service can't get these armored bass boats "fleeted fast enough." VOICE OVER: Sgt. Christian Button, 23, of Camp Pendleton, Calif. "This vehicle is a leap into what we need to stay on top of our military. It's god's gift to the Marine Corps right now. This is the next generation of military weapon systems." But this program hasn't come easy for the Marines. The 27-billion-dollar program has suffered a series of setbacks. And failed a critical test more than two years ago. Some wonder if the Marines even need such a vehicle as the military conducts missions in Afghanistan and Iraq. Last year, the Marines went back to the drawing board with contractor General Dynamics to redesign the entire vehicle from top to bottom. Now, in a matter of days, they will find out if all the money and time they spent was worth it. If problems are discovered that could put the entire program in jeopardy. But, even if the vehicle misses the mark, observers say, it's unlikely the Bush administration will cancel the program. Instead, they will just wait for President-elect Barack Obama to decide whether he will ax this vital program with its troubled past. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...