April 10, 2022
The Marines' Amphibious Combat Vehicle Heads Back to Sea
A key equipment issue has been fixed and the vehicles are ready to resume training exercises.
by Caleb Larson Follow @calebmlarson on TwitterL
The United States Marine Corps’ (USMC) new Amphibious Combat Vehicles (ACVs) will receive new tow ropes, a badly-needed fix that will allow the newest vehicle in the Marine Corps’ inventory to take to sea once again.
The information came to light during the annual Navy League symposium.
The Marine Corps realized that the tow ropes lacked the elasticity necessary to tow another vehicle under load. During bumpy and irregular towing in the water, the ropes were prone to permanent deformation because they lacked stretchiness.
Rather than lengthening under load and contracting when released, the ropes would sometimes stretch and not return to their original length or snap while under load.
The Marine Corps’ immediate fix for this problem was to keep the Amphibious Combat Vehicles out of the water, though the service later approved them for operations in calmer, protected waters, but not within deeper and more chaotic surf zones.
https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/marines-amphibious-combat-vehicle-heads-back-sea-201746
