Iveco and BAE Systems balancing out USMC’s demands
The first of 16 Amphibious Combat Vehicles (ACV) 1.1 prototypes has been rolled out by BAE Systems to the US Marine Corps (USMC) in a ceremony on 13 December at the company’s York, PA/USA facility. The ACV 1.1 offer is based on Iveco Defence Vehicles‘ fully amphibious, ship launch-able and recoverable 8×8 wheeled combat Platform, according to the company.
The ACV 1.1 leverages an existing platform provided by Iveco Defence Vehicles that is highly effective at sea and provides superior land mobility and state-of-the-art systems survivability.
“Iveco Defence Vehicles has a long-standing legacy of building multi-purpose, protected and armoured platforms, including solutions for amphibious operations,” Vincenzo Giannelli, President and CEO of Iveco Defence Vehicles, explained. “That expertise coupled with the hard work of our dedicated ACV team with BAE Systems has allowed us to deliver the first of these vehicles ahead of schedule.”
The BAE Systems solution balances the USMC’s demands for an affordable, production-ready platform with added designs for increased force protection, water and land mobility, transportability and survivability.
The USMC awarded BAE Systems a contract for the Engineering, Manufacture, and Development (EMD) phase of the ACV 1.1 programme in November 2015, one of two EMD contracts issued. The other contract went to SAIC and ST Kinetics’ enhanced ACV 1.1 solution, called TERREX 2, which is an 8×8 wheeled, armoured ACV with improved mobility that can transport a combat load of up to 11 embarked marines and three crew members through hostile territory. On land, TERREX 2’s independent suspension system improves ground mobility and ride quality for US Marines. In water, TERREX 2’s hydraulically driven propulsion systems with full independent thrust control authority allows safe operation at Sea-State 3 and through six-foot plunging surf.
During the EMD phase, BAE Systems, supported by Iveco Defence Vehicles experts, will produce 16 prototypes that will be tested by the corps.
