New command and control and a separate 30 mm-cannon equipped variant of the Marine Corp’s amphibious combat vehicle are expected to arrive at units in early 2024. The amphibious combat vehicle personnel variant arrived at Marine units in 2021 to replace the legacy amphibious assault vehicle, which has been in service since the 1970s. More than 200 amphibious combat vehicle personnel variants had been built by mid-2023, and 139 of those had been delivered to either operational or training units.
The variant is one of four designs either fielded or under production by BAE Systems out of its York, Pennsylvania, facility, Defense News reported. Planners expect the command and control version, dubbed the ACV-C, to reach initial operational capability by March 2024. The ACV-C began production in 2022 but stalled following testing and design review problems. Defense Department officials noted in a January 2023 report that the variant was “not operationally effective as a mobile command post.”
By July 2023, the manufacturer, BAE Systems, had resolved concerns and the vehicle was in full-rate production. The same Pennsylvania production plant at the time was building three ACV-30 vehicles. Marines operating with any of the ACV variants will still need to keep at least one version of the old AAV in the inventory for at least a few more years. Todd South has written about crime, courts, government and the military for multiple publications since 2004.
