The Marine Corps is officially looking for three variants of its new Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV) with a request for information (RFI) Monday to detail its requirement for command and control, turreted and recovery versions of its latest vehicle.
The RFI says the Marine Corps requires 29 command variants (ACV-C), 39 recovery and maintenance variants (ACV-R) and 150 units of a 30mm medium caliber cannon variant (ACV-30).
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BAE Systems is currently producing the ACV, and the Marine Corps in December awarded the company a $140 million deal to deliver the first 30 vehicles beginning this summer.
The new notice is a likely first step towards a sole-source contract process with BAE Systems to ensure the there is only one responsible source for the program, a Marine Corps spokesperson told Defense Daily.
Jonathan Swift, BAE Systems’ director of Amphibious Programs, told reporters in December his company had initiated discussion of variants with the Marine Corps, adding “we will be soon placed on contract for the pursuit and initial design of those variants” (Defense Daily, Dec. 7).
Any variants would likely be purchased during the first phase of the program, ACV 1.1, under a full-rate production contract, according to Swift.
“The contractor shall design, manufacture, and deliver ACV-C, ACV-R, and ACV-30 vehicles that maintain commonality with the existing ACV-Personnel vehicle to the maximum extent possible,” Marine Corps officials wrote in the RFI.
Common components with the the baseline ACV and the future variants are expected to include the drivetrain, powertrain, water propulsion, hull underbody, armor system, suspension system, steering system, braking system, driver’s station, and vehicle commander’s station.
Responses to the RFI are due by February 23.