HMMWV, the joint light tactical vehicle, when fielded, and other tactical trucks to provide mounted mobility for troops, weapons and cargo.” The Marine Corps is currently in requirements development for both vehicles so that detailed characteristics are not yet available. McConnell outlined the general requirements for the vehicles as follows. The ACV will be designed to carry 17 Marines plus a crew of three. The MPC will have a capacity of nine Marines plus crew. The ACV is to “deploy from amphibious ships over-the-horizon in a variety of sea states to objectives inland. The MPC will swim rivers and lakes without special preparation. Both vehicles will operate with M1A1 main battle tanks on prepared roadways and cross country. Both vehicles will support dismounted infantry with precision, stabilized machine guns. Both vehicles will provide inherent direct An amphibious assault vehicle assigned to the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit maneuvers towards the amphibious dock landing ship USS Carter Hall (LSD 50). Carter Hall is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility with the Iwo Jima Strike Group to conduct maritime fire protection against heavy machine security. [Photo courtesy of U.S. Navy/by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Flordeliz Valerio] guns and provide under-vehicle protectransport ships at greater risk to shore-based threats.” Still, the tion against land mines and buried IEDs. Both vehicles will also be Marine Corps continues talking about an over-the-horizon launch capable of mounting additional protection. It is anticipated that the capability. This requirement will have to be clarified as the program MPC will be capable of substantially more protection than the ACV moves forward to address affordability issues. because it will not be constrained by its amphibious design.” Current plans call for fielding the ACV and MPC around 2022, The ACV is intended to address the lift capacity and capability to which means that the Marine Corps is going to have to rely on the conduct amphibious, ship-to-objective operations from the Marine AAV in the interim. Marine Corps plans call for the AAV to continue Expeditionary Unit up to Marine Expeditionary Brigade levels and to serve as its primary platform until at least 2015 and remain in to contribute to overall infantry lift capacity requirements for susservice until 2025. tained operations ashore. “It’s going to take a while to design the ACV,” said McConnell. “The ACV will be the primary means of tactical mobility for the “It could take a decade or more to fully field. That means the AAV is Marine rifle squad, both at sea and ashore,” added Marine Corps going to be around for quite a while. These vehicles are not sitting spokesperson Manny Pacheco. “The ACV will autonomously deliver at bases—they are being deployed to Marine expeditionary units the assault echelon from amphibious shipping at launch distances around the world every day and they are being used every day.” at or beyond the visual horizon, with speed to enable the rapid The fleet of 1,063 AAVs has already been rebuilt to improve relibuildup ashore, and provide combat-ready Marines at the objective. ability, availability and maintainability. New upgrade programs for The ACV will possess superior ground mobility and speed similar the AAVs are on the drawing boards. to the M1A1 during sustained operations ashore, will possess the “We are going to conduct a program that will start next year to capability to engage and destroy threat peer vehicles, and provide do some limited upgrades to some of the AAV fleet,” said McConnell. organic, direct fire support to dismounted infantry in the attack. “Those upgrades are designed to improve protection. Doing that The ACV will protect the force during offensive and defensive operawill make the vehicle a little heavier, so we will be addressing power tions, providing 360-degree protection against direct fire, indirect train and suspension replacement to support the added weight. This fire, mines and improvised explosive device threats.” works out to just under a third of the AAV fleet that we will be focusThe ACV is expected to accelerate to speeds considerably faster ing on. At the end of the day, that will not give us an ACV capability, than the seven knots capable by the AAV, according to Reeves. Howbut we will have an AAV that will be more relevant to countering the ever, the amphibious range of the vehicle remains ambiguous. “The threats we are likely to encounter.” AAV was launched from between 4,000 meters and 6,000 meters The AAV upgrades are expected to include the addition of underfrom the shore due to the lower speed of the vehicle going through body armor, sponson armor, blast mitigating seats, fuel tank protecthe littorals and the surf zone,” he said. “The EFV requirement of tion, and floor and blast mitigating liners. Those improvements, 25 nautical miles came from the Navy. That is the distance where together with the engine, transmission and suspension upgrades to the ship disappears off the visual horizon from the beach. With the support the added weight, are expected to cost approximately $1.5 proliferation of anti-ship missiles, the Navy wanted more standoff to million per vehicle. launch assault forces from farther out at sea.” It is difficult to compare the attributes of the ACV with the The 2012 GAO report noted that a shorter launch distance canceled EFV because the ACV requirements have yet to be fully would save money on the AAV but “would place Navy amphibious 8 | GCT 3.5
www.GCT-kmi.com