According to news published by the United States Department of Defense (DoD) on September 28, 2020, the U.S. Marines will soon start receiving the new wheeled Amphibious Combat Vehicle. Program Executive Officer Land Systems approved the initial fielding of the Marine Corps ' new ACV, which will replace the US Marine Corps Assault Amphibious Vehicles.
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U.S. Marines from the Amphibious Combat Vehicle new equipment training team complete an operator course in the vehicle. (Picture source U.S. DoD)
The initial fielding decision, which the PEO finalized in late September, enables the AAA program office to start distributing the vehicle to the fleet. The Marine Corps will deliver the first set of ACVs (Amphibious Combat Vehicle) in the personnel-carrier variant to Marines starting in October 2020.
In the future, the Corps intends to develop, procure and field three additional variants that specialize in command and control, recovery operations, and increased firepower. The ACV is a new generation of amphibious armored vehicle designed to move U.S. Marines from ship to shore. Designed to replace the aging Amphibious Assault Vehicle (AAV) also called LVTP-7, the ACV will be the primary means of tactical mobility for the Marine infantry battalion at sea and ashore. The ACV will possess ground mobility and speed similar to the M1A1 tank during sustained operations ashore and have the capability to provide organic, direct fire support to dismounted infantry in the attack.
At present, the Marines use the AAV-7A1 series amphibious assault vehicle to move U.S. Marines from ship to shore. The Marines have used the AAV since 1971 and expect to continue to use it until replaced by the ACV.
in 2015, the company BAE Systems was awarded one of two Engineering, Manufacturing, and Development (EMD) contracts to produce 16 prototype ACV vehicles in collaboration with the Italian company Iveco Defence Vehicles. In December 2016, BAE Systems has delivered the first of the 16 prototypes to the USMC (United States Marine Corps).
The ACV is a family of 8x8 armored vehicles that includes a personnel variant, command and control variant, recovery variant, and 30-mm gun variant. The ACV Program Office is focusing on current procurement efforts on the personnel variant. It is a modern generation, eight-wheeled, armored personnel carrier with a combat-loaded gross vehicle weight of around 32,000 kg. The primary weapon on the ACV is a single mount RWS (Remote Weapon Station) equipped with an Mk-19 automatic grenade launcher or M2 12.7mm caliber heavy machine gun.
The ACV is developed based on the design of the SuperAV 8x8 amphibious armored vehicle developed and manufactured by the Italian Company IVECO Defence Vehicles. It incorporates a high hardness monocoque steel hull, able to protect the crew from small arms fire, artillery shell splinters, landmines, and IEDs. Add-on armor kits are available. The BAE/Iveco version of the SuperAV submitted to the Marines carries a crew of three with 11 embarked Marines. The vehicle is fully amphibious and powered in the water at a maximum speed of 11 km/h thanks to two propellers mounted at the rear of the hull.
