Marine Corps Fires Weapons at its New Amphibious Combat Vehicle

Warrior Maven Video Analysis Above: What Will the New Marine Corp ACV Bring to Amphibious Warfare?

By Kris Osborn – Warrior Maven

Kris Osborn is a Senior Fellow atThe Lexington Institute

(Washington, D.C.) The Marine Corps’ ongoing offensive and defensive live-fire exercises with its emerging Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV) are intended to refine the new vehicle’s weapons systems and survivability – while aligning the modern vehicle with the service’s evolving amphibious warfare strategy.  

The combat exercises include firing live weapons at targets from the vehicle, while also testing the Amphibious Combat Vehicle’s ability to withstand enemy fire. To assess survivability, Corps live fire plans will attack the ACV with enemy weapons until the attacks achieve “total destruction,” to prepare the vehicle for long-range, high-intensity amphibious land-attack missions.

The Corps is preparing to deploy its new BAE-built Amphibious Combat Vehicles by 2021. The new amphibious attack ship-to-shore combat vehicle is intended to massively expand mission length, attack potential and sensor networking for amphibious assaults well beyond what the current AAV —  Amphibious Assault Vehicle — can accomplish.

The new vehicle, currently under a Navy Low-Rate Initial Production deal with BAE Systems to deliver 30 vehicles, is engineered to swim from ship to shore bringing advanced weapons, new sensors and “deeper, stronger,” land attack possibilities. As part of this strategic and tactical emphasis, the new ACV is built with new survivability technology such as a precision weapons station, v-shaped hull and “swim” capability enabling it to operate within the “littorals and beyond,”Corps officials say.