The U.S. Marine Corps Systems Command has contracted BAE Systems for the design and build of the Corps’ new Amphibious Combat Vehicle medium caliber cannon mission role variant.
The U.S. Department of Defense said Thursday that BAE Systems Land and Armaments LP won an $11,038,019 modification for contract Line Item Number 8101 to previously awarded contract M67854-16-C-0006 for Phase Two of the design and development new ACV variant with remote Medium Caliber Turret (MCT).
Earlier this year, U.S. defense contractor BAE Systems said that it had got a $113.5 million order for delivering additional ACVs to the .S. Marine Corps. This award brings the total vehicle orders for the ACV to 116, and moves the program closer to full-rate production.
The ACV is an eight-wheeled armored personnel carrier designed to fully replace the Corps’ aging fleet of Amphibious Assault Vehicles. It is intended to serve Marines for at least the next 20-plus years.
The Corps’ new combat vehicle will come in four different variants derived from the armored personnel carrier base. There’s a recovery variant, a command and control variant, and an up-armed variant to engage enemy armored vehicles.
The ACV powers through high surf, traverses over trenches and trucks over sloped terrain. The ACV’s significant protective assets make it resilient to direct attacks and allow it to operate with degraded mobility in an ever-changing battle environment. The vehicle possesses sufficient lethality to deliver accurate fire support to infantry, whether stationary or on the move.