The U.S. Marine Corps depends heavily on amphibious combat vehicles (ACVs), so much so that they have placed a $256 million order with BAE Systems for more these vehicles (see image above). The order comes as part of a full-rate-production (FRP) contract to support two variants of earlier vehicles: the ACV-Personnel (ACV-P) variant and the Command (ACV-C) variant.
This latest contract exercises existing contract options, including $145.3 million for more than 25 ACV-P vehicles and $111.5 million for more than 15 ACV-C vehicles. The 8 × 8 wheeled ACVs are renowned for their versatility and adaptability to many environments. They provide open-ocean amphibious capability, full land capability, and the survivability needed by the U.S. Marine Corps.
Garrett Lacaillade, vice-president of amphibious programs at BAE Systems, explained, “The ACV is an extremely versatile platform that continues our commitment to equip the Marines with the vehicle to meet their expeditionary needs.” He added, “Today, with our strategic partner Iveco Defence Vehicles, we are delivering this critical capability to the Marines. Together, we are working to introduce new and future capabilities to the ACV family of vehicles.”
BAE Systems is under contract for two additional ACV variants, the ACV Recovery (ACV-R) and the ACV-30. The ACV-R variant will replace the legacy Assault Amphibious Vehicle Recovery AAVR7A1 variant. The ACV-30 incorporates a medium-caliber Kongsberg technology remote turret system manufactured by Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace for protection while still providing generous troop capacity.
BAE is performing ACV production and support at multiple locations, including Stafford, Va., San Jose, Calif., and York, Pa. The company also has received task instructions from the Marines to incorporate an advanced reconnaissance vehicle command, communication, and computers/unmanned aerial systems payload onto an ACV variant. That ACV C4/UAS variant was delivered to the Marines for testing earlier this year.