The United States Marine Corps has awarded General Dynamics Land Systems and Textron Systems Corporation a second rapid prototyping contract for the Advanced Reconnaissance Vehicle (ARV), pushing forward one of its most important modernization programs to replace the aging Light Armored Vehicle fleet.
Under the new award, both companies will move into a second prototyping phase and build pre-production vehicles across several mission variants. These include the ARV-C4UAS, the ARV-30 fitted with a 30mm autocannon, and the ARV-LOG logistics version.
The ARV sits at the center of the service’s effort to reshape its reconnaissance force for distributed operations. It is being developed as a purpose-built family of vehicles for Mobile Reconnaissance Battalions, replacing the legacy LAV with a platform built around mobility, sensing, networking, and firepower.
Unlike heavier combat vehicles, the new platform is intended to stay fast and deployable. The Marine Corps says it will be smaller and lighter than the ACV-30, a design choice aimed at improving rapid deployment and allowing units to move more discreetly across a range of terrain.
One of the key variants is the ARV-30, which is set to succeed the current LAV-25 in the reconnaissance fire support role. It will carry an automatic 30mm medium-caliber cannon, anti-armor capability, updated command-and-control systems, and a more advanced sensor suite than the vehicle it replaces.
The ARV-C4UAS version is intended to serve as the command-and-sensor node for reconnaissance formations. The Marine Corps describes it as a battlefield “quarterback,” built to coordinate intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance tasks while linking manned and unmanned systems.
“In the future fight, the Marine Air-Ground Task Force [MAGTF C2] must out cycle the fight for information to shape the battlespace and deliver precision fires,” said Col. Chris Stephenson, program manager for Light Armored Vehicles. “This highly contested environment is drastically more complex, and Mobile Reconnaissance Battalions must have a purpose-built capability such as the ARV that can sense, communicate, and fight by incorporating manned and unmanned systems and sustaining effective sensor webs tied to kill chains.”
The Marine Corps says the ARV is the first major program to use recently expanded acquisition authorities that allow greater flexibility in contracting and faster movement from prototype to fielded capability.
“Building on its initial success, the program is capitalizing on recent legislative flexibilities to extend its non-traditional acquisition strategy,” said Maryann Lawson, product lead for the ARV program. “By initiating a second Rapid Prototyping phase for pre-production development, the program will utilize stand-alone Other Transaction Authorities (OTAs) to maintain agility and technical momentum.”
Competition during the first phase was used to reduce technical risk before entering pre-production.
“The competitive prototyping phase for the ARV provided a firm basis for Textron and GDLS to demonstrate the feasibility of the Marine Corps’ requirements,” said Kim Bowen, deputy program manager for PM LAV. “By fostering a robust sense of competition, the government was able to thoroughly evaluate each vendor’s capabilities, significantly driving down program risk prior to the pre-production phase.”
The Marine Corps expects vehicle deliveries in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2028, followed by a production decision in the first quarter of fiscal year 2031.
The program represents a clear break from the legacy LAV concept. Rather than serving solely as a crewed reconnaissance vehicle, the ARV is being built as the manned center of a broader team that includes robotic systems, autonomous platforms, advanced sensors, and artificial intelligence-enabled capabilities.