Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV) - Program
The planned acquisition objective of 1,122 ACVs will replace the legacy Amphibious Assault Vehicles (AAVs) fielded to the Assault Amphibian battalion within the Marine Division. The ACV is an eight-wheeled vehicle that will provide protection akin to the Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle, with landward maneuverability and mobility that is superior to that of the AAV. It will be outfitted with a precision weapons station for enhanced lethality, and a robust swim capability, allowing it to operate within the littorals and beyond.
On June 20, 2018 Marine Corps Systems Command awarded a contract to produce Amphibious Combat Vehicles–a much-needed modernization to the Marine Corps' ground combat element. Following a successful Milestone C decision by the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development, and Acquisition, the contract options worth $198 million will allow BAE Systems to build 30 low rate production vehicles, which will start delivering in the fall of 2019. These vehicles will begin the transition of a portion of the Assault Amphibious Vehicle fleet.
BAE Systems, along with teammate Iveco Defence Vehicles, prevailed in the Marine Corps’ robust competition for the next generation of vehicles to get the Marines from ship to shore to engage in land combat operations. Work on the program will be performed at the company’s facilities in Aiken, South Carolina; Sterling Heights, Michigan; Minneapolis; Stafford; San Jose, California; and York, Pennsylvania.
“We are well positioned and ready to build the future of amphibious fighting vehicles for the Marine Corps, having already produced 16 prototypes,” said Dean Medland, vice president and general manager of Combat Vehicles Amphibious and International at BAE Systems. “Through this award, we are proud to continue our partnership with the Marine Corps by providing a best-in-class vehicle to support its mission through mobility, survivability and lethality.”
The Assault Amphibious Vehicle had been in service for more than 40 years, and many of its components and parts are obsolete and no longer manufactured. Because of this, the vehicles are becoming increasingly costly and difficult to maintain. That, and the changing environment in which Marines find themselves plagued by the improvised explosive device threat, has produced a need for a new, more survivable combat vehicle that can maneuver from ship to shore and beyond.
"In order to be a step ahead of our adversaries in the future, the Marine Corps needed to find a modern vehicle at an affordable price range that provided significant capability enhancement and performance over the AAV," said Col. Kirk Mullins, ACV 1.1 product manager in Program Manager Advanced Amphibious Assault in the Program Executive Officer Land Systems.
"The ACV provides a mobile capability that mechanizes the force to maintain tempo with the remainder of the [Marine Air-Ground Task Force]; specifically the M1A1 tank," said Mullins. "It isn't maintenance intensive because of its increased reliability, and it also provides greater protection against threats we encounter on the battlefield."
The vehicle underwent substantial testing over the past two years to determine how it will protect Marines, be easier to maintain, and meet requirements for survivability and reliability. Testing took place at the U.S. Army Aberdeen Test Center in Maryland; the Amphibious Vehicle Test Branch aboard Camp Pendleton, California; the Yuma Test Center in Arizona; the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center in Mississippi; and the White Sands Missile Range Army Base in New Mexico.
The ACV provides exceptional mobility in all terrains, and blast mitigation protection for all three crew and 13 embarked Marines, along with other improvements over currently fielded systems. The new vehicle is an advanced 8x8 open ocean-capable vehicle that is equipped with a new 6-cylinder, 700HP engine, which provides a significant power increase over the Assault Amphibious Vehicle, which is currently in service and has been in operation for decades. The ACV is also adaptable to accommodate growth for future technologies or requirements.
The BAE Systems team conducted its own extensive risk mitigation testing and evaluation for land mobility, survivability, and swim capabilities that proved its vehicle’s performance prior to delivering the first 16 prototypes to the Marine Corps in 2017. The company supported the Marine Corps’ rigorous Developmental Testing and Operational Assessment of the vehicles, which performed superbly in water and land operations, payload, and survivability.
The Marine Corps’ selection of BAE Systems for the ACV 1.1 program further solidifies the company’s 70-year legacy of providing superior amphibious vehicle capabilities to meet ship-to-objective and combat tactical lift objectives. As a leading provider of combat vehicles, the company has produced more than 100,000 systems for customers worldwide. Iveco is also a proven manufacturer of combat vehicles, having designed and built more than 30,000 multi-purpose, protected, and armored military vehicles in service today.
From November 2018 to March 2019, the Program Manager, Advanced Amphibious Assault (PM AAA) and the Marine Corps Operational Test and Evaluation Activity (MCOTEA) conducted cold weather developmental and operational testing at the Cold Regions Test Center (CRTC) at Fort Greeley, Alaska, and cold weather amphibious developmental testing at Coast Guard Station Cape May, New Jersey.
The infantry rifle squad equipped with the Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV) was able to complete assigned missions while carrying additional cold weather clothing and equipment. Vision blocks and Remote Weapons System (RWS) optics were prone to icing and/or fogging, and could lead to performance or reliability problems. During amphibious operations, the exposed ammunition in the RWS was also subject to sea spray and potential ice buildup.
ACV reliability is below the expected reliability growth estimate. Based on Reliability Growth Testing during the Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) phase, ACV demonstrated reliability was 27 percent of its planned growth estimate. The program intends to implement several engineering change proposals into the low rate initial production to improve reliability.
During FY19, the Aberdeen Test Center began the ACV full-up system-level (FUSL) live fire test series. The test series includes 26 events using 4 low-rate initial production (LRIP) and 3 EMD ACVs to support the survivability evaluation of the ACV and its crew in projected combat scenarios. ACV live fire testing completed in May 2020.
The PM AAA and MCOTEA conducted cold weather developmental/operational testing at the CRTC in Fort Greeley, Alaska, in accordance with the DOT&E-approved test plan. The test consisted of a Marine Rifle Squad embarked on an ACV conducting operationally representative missions based on the system’s Operational Mode Summary/Mission Profile. PM AAA conducted, and MCOTEA observed, cold weather amphibious developmental testing in February 2019 at the U.S. Coast Guard Training Center in Cape May, New Jersey, to characterize the ACV mobility in extreme cold water temperature. The program conducted Reliability Growth Testing at CRTC in January and February 2019 using two EMD prototypes.
In December 2018, the Marine Corps began the execution of the ACV FUSL live fire test series at the Army’s Aberdeen Test Center in Maryland. The test series includes 26 events using 4 LRIP and 3 EMD ACVs to support the evaluation of the survivability of the ACV and its crew in projected combat scenarios. As of November 2019, the Aberdeen Test Center has completed 11 test events in accordance with DOT&E-approved test plans. The FUSL test series is on track to conclude in May 2020. PM AAA will conduct a Cooperative Vulnerability Identification (CVI) and MCOTEA will conduct a Cooperative Vulnerability and Penetration Assessment (CVPA) in 2QFY20, followed by an Adversarial Assessment planned for 4QFY20 in conjunction with IOT&E.
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