Monday, December 7, 2015

US Marine MPC/ ACV Programme Update

The United States has shortlisted two 8x8 armoured vehicles for the next and final phase of the Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV) 1.1 programme.  The shortlisted vehicles are based on the IVECO SuperAV or AV-8 and the ST Kinetics Terrex. The AV-8 is offered by a consortium conprising of British Aerospace Systems (BAE Systems) and IVECO.  The consortium led by Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) is building a vehicle based on ST Kinetics’ TERREX. Both consortiums have each been awarded a US$100m contract under the Engineering, Manufacturing, and Development (EMD) phase of the programme. This phase will last two years after which a contract may be awarded for the production of an initial batch of 200 vehicles.



Terrex at Home in the Surf. Image from SAIC Facebook.

The AV-8 has internal capacity for 13 embarked Marines plus a crew of three thus meeting the objective requirement for payload. It is powered by a 6-cylinder, 700HP power pack, which is a significant power increase over the Marine's current Assault Amphibious Vehicle.

The TERREX is in service with the Singapore Army since 2010. The updated TERREX 2 is specially designed for littoral missions. It has a "shark-nose" hydrodynamic hull that keeps the vehicle's forward section above water as it is propelled through surfs at speed of more than 6 knots; in sea state of up to Sea State 4 (where waves reach up to 2.5 metres). The V-shaped bottom provides stability in the water as well as enhanced mine protection. The TERREX is powered by a 600HP power pack and has capacity for 2 crew and 12 Marines.

BAE

The Straits Times

US Marines Corp

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