BAE Systems has received a $113.5 million deal from the Marine Corps to deliver 26 more Amphibious Combat Vehicles (ACV), the company announced Wednesday.
The latest low-rate initial production deal will bring the total ACV order from the Marine Corps up to 116 vehicles, as the program heads toward a full-rate production decision likely set for the fourth quarter of FY ‘20.
“The ACV provides the most survivable and mobile amphibious vehicle to the U.S. Marines Corps for supporting the warfighters’ ability to successfully execute their unique expeditionary missions,” John Swift, BAE Systems’ director of amphibious programs, said in a statement. “This award further demonstrates our commitment to that mission. It’s an important milestone for the program and represents a major step toward full rate production.”
The Marine Corps awarded its last low rate initial production (LRIP) order to BAE Systems at the end of October, a $120 million deal for 30 ACVs (Defense Daily, Oct. 30).
Deliveries under the LRIP orders are for the personnel carrier variant of the ACV, which is built to carry 13 Marines and transport Marines for ship to shore for land operations.
The Marine Corps has said it will go with a family of vehicles approach built around three additional variants: a turreted version (ACV-30), a command and control platform (ACV-C), and a recovery variant (ACV-R).
BAE Systems received a $67 million deal last June to begin developing two of the variants: the ACV-C and and ACV-30 (Defense Daily, June 25).
Three ACV-C vehicles are set to be delivered to the Marine Corps late this summer, and another three ACV-30 vehicles will be delivered after officials have evaluated integration of the unmanned turret system late in 2020.