Marine Corps Wants 92 Amphibious Combat Vehicles To Replace Aging AAV Fleet
Mil & Intel
By James R. Webb | June 15, 2021
As the Marine Corps continues to modernize under Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. David Berger’s “Force Design 2030” plan, the branch requested 92 Amphibious Combat Vehicles (ACVs) in the Department of Defense Fiscal Year 2022 Budget Request, up from 72 the previous year. The move signaled that the service is moving full speed ahead toward replacing the Assault Amphibious Vehicles, or AAVs, which the Marine Corps has employed since 1972.
With some planned variants featuring remote-operated 30 mm cannons, the ability to reach 65 miles per hour on land, increased blast protection for the Marines inside, and open-system architecture, the new ACV appears to be a lethal and worthy upgrade to the venerable Vietnam-era.
Marines with Company D, 3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion, provide security for infantry Marines while conducting an integrated training exercise at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif., April 5, 2021. US Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Jamin M. Powell, courtesy of DVIDS.
Weapons mounted on ACVs are remotely operated and highly accurate. According to a Pentagon report, the primary weapon system for the ACV is a “single mount Remote Weapons System,” which is equipped with either an Mk-19 40 mm automatic grenade launcher or the M2 .50-caliber heavy machine gun.
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