BAE Systems delivered the first production representative test vehicle (PRTV) of the new Amphibious Combat Vehicle 30mm Cannon (ACV-30) variant to the U.S. Marine Corps for testing. ACV-30 is the third variant in the ACV family of vehicles designed, developed, and built since BAE Systems was selected as the prime contractor for the program in 2018. The vehicle mounts a stabilized, medium caliber Remote Turret System manufactured by KONGSBERG that provides the lethality and protection Marines need while leaving ample room for troop capacity and payload while keeping the crew under armor. The remote turret eliminates the space requirement of legacy turreted cannon systems and provides more room to transport troops or mission essential equipment, and reduces weight for better mobility.
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. Originally a plan to develop a high-water-speed vehicle, the program has expanded into a multi-phased approach to procure and develop several types of amphibious-capable vehicles to address near and long-term requirements. The competition for the project ended in 2018 with the birth of an eight-wheel drive armoured fighting vehicle, based on the Italian Iveco SuperAV. Production by BAE Systems and Iveco started in 2020 with 36 units, and 80 vehicles per year from 2021, for five years.
“ACV-30 equips dismounted Marines with direct fire support allowing them to simultaneously find, fix, and engage targets more effectively and efficiently than current systems,” said Garrett Lacaillade, vice president of the amphibious vehicles product line for BAE Systems. “Innovating for the future, consistent with Force Design 2030 priorities, we have teamed with our strategic partners Iveco Defence Vehicles, KONGSBERG, and the Marine Corps to deliver not only an incredibly lethal capability, but a vehicle and weapon system that has the growth potential to incorporate new technologies to defeat future threats.”
BAE Systems is currently in full-rate production with the ACV Personnel (ACV-P) variant and ACV Command and Control (ACV-C) variant, and is on contract for the design and development of an ACV Recovery (ACV-R) variant which will provide direct field support, maintenance, and recovery to the ACV family of vehicles. Each customizable ACV variant in the family of vehicles provides true open-ocean and ship-to-objective capability, land mobility, survivability, and growth potential to meet the evolving operational needs of Marines around the world. ACV production and support take place at BAE Systems locations in Stafford, Virginia; San Jose, California; Sterling Heights, Michigan; Aiken, South Carolina; and York, Pennsylvania.
