BAE Systems Wins U.S. Navy Contract
British multinational company BAE Systems has secured a contract worth $113.5 million to supply an additional 26 amphibious combat vehicles (ACV) to the US Marine Corps (USMC).
The company will supply the ACVs under the low-rate initial production (LRIP) phase of the program. The deal will now bring the total ACV order from the USMC to 116, moving the programme closer to full-rate production.
The ACV is a highly mobile, survivable and adaptable platform for conducting rapid ship-to-shore operations and brings enhanced combat power to the battlefield. BAE Systems has been in low-rate production since 2018 on the personnel carrier variant in the ACV family, which is envisioned to consist of additional variants including command and control, 30mm medium caliber turret, and recovery versions.
“The ACV provides the most survivable and mobile amphibious vehicle to the U.S. Marines Corps for supporting the warfighters’ ability to successfully execute their unique expeditionary missions,” said John Swift, director of amphibious programs at BAE Systems. “This award further demonstrates our commitment to that mission, it’s an important milestone for the program and represents a major step toward full rate production.”
The BAE Systems team and the U.S. Marine Corps have been making significant strides to reach full-rate production, including the successful completion of Logistics Demonstration as a critical enabler for the program to move into Initial Operational Test and Evaluation (IOT&E) with trained U.S. Marine maintainers. This and other major milestones such as operator training and additional testing will take place before full-rate production.
The Marine Corps selected BAE Systems along with teammate Iveco Defence Vehicles for the ACV program to replace its legacy fleet of Assault Amphibious Vehicles, which have been in service for decades and were also built by BAE Systems.
ACV production and support is taking place at BAE Systems locations in Stafford, Virginia; San Jose, California; Sterling Heights, Michigan; Aiken, South Carolina; and York, Pennsylvania.
