Military

AAV7A1 Assault Amphibian Vehicle (AAV RAM/RS)

The Assault Amphibious Vehicle Reliability, Availability, Maintainability/Rebuild to Standard (AAV RAM/RS) Program provides for a replacement of both the engine and suspension with US Army M2--Bradley Fighting Vehicle (BFV) components modified for the AAV. The ground clearance will return to 16 inches and the horsepower to ton ratio will change from 13 to 1 back to 17 to 1. AAV RAM/RS plans for the rebuild of all AAV systems and components in order to return the AAV back to the original vehicle's performance specifications and ensure acceptable Fleet Marine Force (FMF) AAV readiness ratings until the AAAV is at FOC. Introduction of the BFV components and the rebuild to standard effort is expected to reduce maintenance costs for the remaining life of the AAV through the year 2013. The projected savings are in the range of $400 to $500 million dollars (FY95 dollars).

This program, with rebuild effort directed to the Marine Corps Maintenance Centers at Albany, GA and Barstow, CA, was approved in June 1997 as a new start acquisition program beginning in October 1998, with a maximum four year production duration.

The AAV RAM/RS program was approved as an FY99 new start acquisition in June 1997, and successfully achieved Milestone II in December 1997, Milestone III in October 1998, and commenced production in November 1998. Consolidation of diverse functions and responsibilities within the government team, establishment of a long term contractual relationship with industry to provide technical, engineering and management support for the remaining service life of the AAV, and extensive use of multiple command Integrated Product Teams (IPTs) with industry participation led to early development of quality products and an accelerated schedule.

The AAV RAM/RS Team implemented a number of innovative acquisition approaches and processes to centralize management of an upgrade program to be performed through U.S. Marine Corps depots and industry facilities, to increase the quality, efficiency, responsiveness and timeliness of the acquisition process, and to reduce Total Ownership Cost (TOC) by over $550 million.

The AAV program organizational responsibilities and authorities had been dispersed over the previous four years and emphasis on this soon-to-be-replaced system was more on maintenance than upgrade and acquisition. The AAV RAM/RS Team composed of responsible elements of the Marine Corps Systems Command (SysCom) in Quantico, VA, and Camp Pendleton, CA, and the Marine Corps Logistics Bases (LogBases), Albany, GA, rectified this dispersion by providing a unified management approach for this complicated and aggressive program.

The AAV program has been in existence since the late 1960s and has seen a number of different contractors supporting the various upgrades to the vehicle. The AAV will, however, be fully replaced by the Advance Amphibious Assault Vehicle (AAAV) within a 15 year period and the AAV RAM/RS program, which maintains the AAV in a cost effective and affordable manner until this replacement, is only a four year program. Therefore, the AAV facts of life would not typically interest the type of contractors necessary to appropriately support the AAV. In order to interest industry in supporting this important combat vehicle for its remaining life, the AAV RAM/RS Team offered industry the opportunity to compete for a contract that would select an offeror who would initially perform the hull modifications and parts buy on the AAV RAM/RS program and also provide long term Technical, Engineering and Management Support (TEAMS) and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) support. This innovative concept resulted in the original manufacturer, United Defense (formerly FMC) returning as an integral member of the AAV government/industry team. Additionally, industry was offered and has accepted location of its manufacturing facilities within the LogBases with potential use of its work force on agreed upon FMS efforts. This arrangement allows stabilization of the government's expert work force through industry business innovations to the government production line, and the availability of a dedicated industrial partner for the service life of the AAV.

References

• The RAM/RS program continues history of successful Marine Corps systems When FMC management realized in 1940 that U.S. involvement in World War II was inevitable, they had a decision to make. Because they wouldn't be able to continue making peace-time goods, they would either be forced to close plants, or become involved in producing a war-time product. The decision to manufacture a war-time product led to the company's first attempt at producing amphibious vehicles.
• REFURBISHED AMTRACK MAKES DEBUT AT AAS BATTALION Marine Corps News 07/17/99 -- The first of 680 refurbished amtraks, which will be distributed throughout the Marine Corps, was presented to Assault Amphibian School Battalion Friday at Camp Del Mar. The Assault Amphibious Vehicle P7-A1 is a modified version of the AAV7 family of vehicles.
• RETOOLED AAVS FILTERING IN Marine Corps News 11/21/99 -- Reliability Availability Maintainability/Rebuild to Standard, will cost about $6 million to complete. It will improve and maintain the current fleet of Amphibious Assault Vehicles until the new Advanced AAVs arrive around 2012. I Marine Expeditionary Force currently has 30 of the improved RAMRS vehicles and will receive another 193 by December 2002. The Marine Corps will maintain a total of 680 by that time.
• Program Manager Assault Amphibious Vehicle Home Page