BAE Systems to build 30 more ACV 1.1 amphibious armored combat vehicles and vetronics

U.S. Marine Corps amphibious warfare experts are ordering 30 Amphibious Combat Vehicles and accompanying vetronics to replace the Corps ageing fleet of amphibious assault vehicles (AAVs). Officials of the Marine Corps Systems Command at Quantico Marine Base, Va., announced A $140.4 million contract in December to the BAE Systems Platforms & Services segment in Sterling Heights, Mich., for 30 more Amphibious Combat Vehicles (ACVs) in a program called ACV 1.1. Earlier this year the Marine Corps chose BAE Systems as the ACV prime contractor over competitor Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) in Reston, Va. The ACV is a wheeled armored combat vehicle able to move Marine infantry warfighters from ships offshore to fight their way onto invasion beaches. The Marine Corps could end up purchasing as many as 204 vehicles over the next few years to outfit some of its 10 amphibious assault companies — the first phase of an incremental approach to replacing the AAV, which entered service in 1972. For more information contact BAE Systems Platforms & Services online at www.baesystems.com, or Marine Corps Systems Command at www.marcorsyscom.marines.mil.