U.S. Marines with Amphibious Vehicle Test Branch, Marine Corps Tactical Systems Support Activity, work with the amphibious transport dock ship USS Somerset (LPD 25) to assess and verify the Amphibious Combat Vehicle’s ability to integrate with naval shipping as part of the vehicle’s developmental testing off the shore of Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. The Marines of AVTB are currently testing the Marine Corps’ newest amphibious vehicle, which will replace the Amphibious Assault Vehicle. This was the first time Marines have operated the new vehicle while boarding and departing a ship.
The Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV) is a program initiated by Marine Corps Systems Command to procure an amphibious assault vehicle for the United States Marine Corps to supplement and ultimately replace the aging Assault Amphibious Vehicle (AAV). The program replaces the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV) program canceled in 2011.In June 2018, the BAE design was selected, with an initial order of 30 ACVs.[30] In June 2019, BAE Systems and Iveco were awarded a contract to develop Command and 30mm gun armed variants. On 15 October 2020, Iveco announced that the first fleet of 18 ACVs had been delivered to a platoon of Marines after five years of testing development.
The BAE Systems’ ACV solution has greater ship-to-shore objective capability than that of any similar vehicle in the world. In fact, we’ve already completed several sea demonstrations conducted including operating in Sea State 3 conditions. During these demonstrations, the ACV offering proved its ability to successfully perform ship launch and recovery – an important requirement of the ACV program. The ACV equipped with a robust 690HP engine has a range of more than 325 miles on land before refueling and can travel at speeds in excess of 65 miles per hour. Both sea and land performance are important capabilities for the Marines as they want to execute their missions quickly and effectively.
