Our Take
BAE Systems has completed the overhaul of 99 Viking amphibious vehicles to like-new status. The company is one of two vying for the contract to build the U.S. Marine Corps amphibious combat vehicles and is currently facing Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) in the engineering and manufacturing development phase of that program. Interesting that BAE was chosen to recapitalize a portion of the UK’s amphibious vehicle fleet. It is the incumbent manufacturer of the Marine Corps legacy AAV-7, though ACV opponent SAIC is performing rehab work on a portion of the U.S. vehicle fleet prior to the introduction of ACV’s first iteration.
BAE Systems has completed a £37m upgrade of the UK Royal Marine’s ‘Viking’ amphibious all-terrain vehicles. The Viking vehicles can be launched straight from a ship and propelled through water before landing for a beach assault. They have reached full operational capability after 3.5 years. The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) awarded a contract to BAE Systems in 2012 to upgrade 99 Viking vehicles.