Italy purchases more AAV amphibious armored vehicles retired from US Marine Corps in $30 million sale.

The United States has approved a $30.6 million Foreign Military Sale to Italy for seven retired Assault Amphibious Vehicles drawn from former U.S. Marine Corps inventories. The procurement purposefully excludes troop-carrying variants to systematically focus on specialized command-and-control and maintenance architecture shortfalls within the Italian naval force structure. This targeted acquisition follows the complete retirement of the tracked vehicle platform from active American service as the U.S. Marine Corps transitions to its new wheeled fleet.

The $30.6 million procurement package consists of three AAVC-7A1 mobile command posts and four AAVR-7A1 heavy recovery vehicles configured to the advanced RAM/RS modernization standard. While Italy's baseline amphibious lift capacity remains fixed at 609 personnel, the transaction expands the specialized fleet command architecture by 100 percent and elevates recovery assets by 200 percent.

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The Assault Amphibious Vehicles (AAVs) being transferred are expected to belong to the RAM/RS modernization standard, the most advanced rebuild configuration currently applied to the AAV since its introduction in 1972. (Picture source: USMC)

On June 5, 2026, the United States approved a $30.6 million Foreign Military Sale (FMS) for Italy covering seven Assault Amphibious Vehicles (AAVs) drawn from former U.S. Marine Corps inventories, consisting of three AAVC-7A1 command vehicles and four AAVR-7A1 recovery vehicles. The package does not include any AAVP-7A1 troop carriers, despite the AAVP being the most numerous and best-known member of the AAV family. The number of troops that can be transported during Italy's amphibious landing, therefore, remains unchanged before and after the purchase.

Instead, every AAV acquired is intended to support, command, sustain, or recover vehicles already in service. The transaction comes one year after the U.S. Marine Corps retired its AAV fleet and completed the transition toward the Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV). The composition of the package, therefore, provides a useful indicator of how Italy evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of its current amphibious force structure and where it has identified operational shortfalls. Italy's AAV inventory is shared between two formations. Combined, the fleet consists of approximately 35 vehicles, including 29 troop carriers, three command vehicles, and two recovery vehicles.

The Brigata Marina San Marco operates 15 AAVP-7A1 troop carriers, two AAVC-7A1 command vehicles, and one AAVR-7A1 recovery vehicle, while the Lagunari Regiment operates 14 AAVP-7A1s, one AAVC-7A1, and one AAVR-7A1. Numerically, this means that more than 82 percent of the fleet consists of assault vehicles. Only 8.6 percent consists of command vehicles, and only 5.7 percent consists of recovery assets. Before the acquisition, Italy operated one command vehicle for every 9.7 assault vehicles and one recovery vehicle for every 14.5 assault vehicles. Such a structure prioritizes amphibious lift capacity but leaves relatively little redundancy in the command-and-control and sustainment architecture supporting the force.

A single command or recovery vehicle becoming unavailable has a significantly larger impact on operational effectiveness than the loss of one AAV troop carrier because there are so few alternatives available within the existing Italian inventory. The absence of AAVP-7A1 purchases indicates that Italian planners do not consider assault lift to be the primary limitation of the current fleet. Each AAVP-7A1 carries a crew of three and 21 embarked Marines. With 29 troop carriers already in service, Italy possesses transport capacity for 609 embarked personnel in a single lift. That figure is sufficient to move a battalion-sized amphibious force ashore without requiring additional assault vehicles.

Furthermore, the AAVP-7A1 remains capable of operating in sea conditions up to Sea State 5, allowing operations in conditions that exceed the limits of many modern amphibious armored vehicles. Acquiring additional troop carriers would have increased transport capacity beyond 609 embarked personnel, but it would not have increased the number of command posts available to control those forces, nor would it have improved the fleet's ability to recover disabled vehicles. The procurement, therefore, addresses what appears to be a support and sustainment problem rather than a maneuver problem. The three AAVC-7A1 command vehicles substantially improve the command density of the Italian fleet.

The AAVC-7A1 removes the troop compartment found in the AAVP-7A1 and replaces it with communications equipment, command workstations, and planning facilities. Historical U.S. Marine Corps configurations accommodated five radio operators, four staff personnel, two commanders, and the vehicle crew. In effect, each AAVC functions as a protected mobile command post capable of moving with amphibious forces during ship-to-shore operations and subsequent maneuver ashore. Before the acquisition, Italy possessed only three such vehicles. After delivery, the inventory will increase to six. While the overall fleet grows by only seven vehicles, command vehicle numbers increase by 100 percent.

The proportion of command vehicles within the fleet rises from 8.6 percent to 14.3 percent. The ratio of assault vehicles to command vehicles falls from 9.7:1 to 4.8:1. In practical terms, Italy will possess twice as many mobile command nodes without adding a single additional assault vehicle. The most significant change concerns Italy's recovery capability. The AAVR-7A1, for its part, is the dedicated maintenance and recovery vehicle within AAV formations. Unlike the troop carrier and command variants, the AAVR carries a crane, recovery equipment, spare parts, maintenance tools, and repair personnel. Its role is to retrieve disabled vehicles, conduct field repairs, and return damaged equipment to operational service.

Recovery assets become increasingly important during amphibious operations because conventional maintenance infrastructure, logically, does not accompany the first assault waves, and damaged vehicles may become immobilized in coastal areas where civilian recovery equipment is unavailable. Italy currently operates only two AAVR-7A1s supporting 29 assault vehicles. The addition of four recovery variants increases the inventory from two to six, representing a 200 percent increase. The recovery-to-assault ratio improves from approximately 1:14.5 to approximately 1:4.8. Numerically, no other capability area experiences a comparable improvement. Recovery vehicles represented only 5.7 percent of the fleet before the acquisition but will account for 14.3 percent after delivery, matching the proportion of command vehicles.

The AAVs being transferred are expected to belong to the RAM/RS modernization standard, the most advanced rebuild configuration currently applied to the AAV family. The Assault Amphibious Vehicle (AAV) entered production in 1972, underwent a Service Life Extension Program (SLEP) beginning in 1982, received Product Improvement Program (PIP) modifications from 1985 onward, and later entered the Reliability, Availability, Maintainability/Rebuild to Standard (RAM/RS) modernization effort between 1998 and 2007. RAM/RS upgrades introduced the 525 hp Cummins VTA-903T diesel engine, new transmission components, upgraded suspension systems, and revised running gear.

The AAV measures 7.94 m in length, 3.27 m in width, and 3.26 m in height, while combat weight reaches approximately 29.1 tonnes. Maximum road speed reaches 72 km/h, and water speed reaches 13.2 km/h through twin water jets. Operational range approaches 480 km on land, and water endurance exceeds seven hours. These RAM/RS improvements were intended to restore mobility lost as additional armor and survivability modifications increased vehicle weight throughout decades of service. The timing of the acquisition is notable because it follows the retirement of the AAV from U.S. Marine Corps service in 2025 after approximately 53 years of operational use. The AAV family entered production in 1972 and served as the principal amphibious troop carrier of the U.S. Marine Corps for more than half a century.

Its replacement, the Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV), was selected in 2018 and originated from the Iveco SuperAV design developed in Italy. Italy, therefore, continues operating the tracked vehicle that the U.S. Marine Corps has retired, while the successor adopted by the Marine Corps derives from an Italian design. Several operators also continue to field the AAV, including Japan, Greece, Taiwan, Brazil, South Korea, and Spain. The continued international use of the vehicle reflects the fact that many operators have chosen to modernize existing fleets rather than pursue immediate replacement programs.

Following delivery, Italy's AAV fleet will increase from approximately 35 vehicles to 42, representing an overall growth of 20 percent. However, the operational significance lies in the distribution of that growth. Troop-carrying capacity remains fixed at 609 embarked personnel because the number of AAVP-7A1s remains unchanged at 29. Command vehicle inventory increases from three to six, representing a 100 percent increase, while recovery vehicle inventory rises from two to six, representing a 200 percent increase.

Before the acquisition, support variants accounted for only 14.3 percent of the fleet. After delivery, command and recovery variants together will account for 28.6 percent of the inventory. The transaction, therefore, shifts the fleet toward a more balanced structure without increasing the size of the assault component. Viewed in force structure terms, the AAV purchase is less an expansion of amphibious capability than a reinforcement of the command, maintenance, and recovery architecture required to keep existing amphibious vehicles operational during sustained deployments.

Written by Jérôme Brahy

Jérôme Brahy is a defense analyst and documentalist at Army Recognition. He specializes in naval modernization, aviation, drones, armored vehicles, and artillery, with a focus on strategic developments in the United States, China, Ukraine, Russia, Türkiye, and Belgium. His analyses go beyond the facts, providing context, identifying key actors, and explaining why defense news matters on a global scale.