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Amphibious Encyclopedia · Military amphibians

Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV)

The Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV) is an eight-wheeled armored amphibious personnel carrier built by BAE Systems for the US Marine Corps, based on the Italian Iveco SuperAV [1][3]. Selected in 2018 to replace the tracked AAV7, it carries 13 Marines and a crew of three and can swim from ship to shore [2][3][4].

  • Military amphibians
  • 2018 to present
  • United States

History

The ACV program began in 2011, the year the Defense Department canceled the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle, a planned high-speed tracked successor to the AAV, over cost growth [1][3][7]. Rather than another costly new design, the Marine Corps chose to buy a wheeled vehicle based on existing commercial designs to supplement and then replace the AAV [1]. BAE Systems, teamed with Iveco, received a $103.7 million contract to build 16 prototypes, delivering the first in December 2016 and the rest by the end of 2017 [3]. SAIC built a competing design [1].

In June 2018 the Marine Corps chose the BAE design and ordered an initial 30 vehicles for $198 million, with options for up to 204 vehicles worth about $1.2 billion [1][3]. A GAO review in 2017 found the program's cost estimate followed best practices but warned that overlapping testing and production raised the risk of costly fixes later [4].

The first vehicles went to Delta Company, 3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion, at Twentynine Palms, California, in late 2020, and the Marine Corps declared initial operational capability on 13 November 2020 [2][5]. A contract to move into full-rate production followed in December 2020 [1][2]. Besides the personnel carrier (ACV-P), the family includes a command vehicle (ACV-C), a recovery vehicle (ACV-R) and the ACV-30, armed with a 30 mm cannon in a Kongsberg turret [2][3]. The planned fleet was later cut from 1,122 to 632 vehicles as the Corps reshaped its forces, and the Marine Corps formally retired the AAV in September 2025 [1][7].

Safety pauses and accidents

The ACV's first years included several safety pauses [5][6]. Water operations were paused in September 2021 over a problem with the towing mechanism and resumed by January 2022 after a change to how the tow system was used [5]. In July 2022 unusually high surf at Camp Pendleton rolled one ACV over and disabled another during training; no one was hurt, and the Marine Corps paused all ACV waterborne operations [5]. They resumed after 22 days but were halted again after another mishap [6]. On 12 December 2023 an ACV carrying 15 service members rolled over during a training movement on land at Camp Pendleton, killing one Marine and injuring 14 [6]. A January 2021 report by the Pentagon's operational test director had also noted cramped quarters, difficult exits and frequent breakdowns [1].

Design and how it works

The ACV is an 8x8 wheeled vehicle with a blast-resistant hull, mine-resistant floor and energy-absorbing seats [2][3]. The personnel version is about 30 ft (9.2 m) long and 10 ft (3.1 m) wide, with a gross weight of about 32 t (35 short tons), and it can carry up to 7,280 lb (3,302 kg) [1][3]. A six-cylinder diesel of about 690 to 700 hp gives a road speed of more than 65 mph (105 km/h) and a road range of about 325 miles (523 km) [1][3].

Afloat it reaches about 6 knots (11 km/h) and has a swim range of up to 12 nautical miles (22 km); it can be launched from and recovered by ships and operate in sea state three [1][3]. Its standard remote weapon station mounts a .50 caliber machine gun or a 40 mm grenade launcher [1][3].

Legacy

The ACV moved the Marine Corps' main ship-to-shore armored vehicle from tracks to wheels, replacing the tracked AAV that had served since 1972 [1][7]. BAE continued to receive production contracts into 2026, including orders for 30 more vehicles in January and again in February 2026 and a contract for 32 ACV-R recovery vehicles [2].

Sources

  1. Amphibious Combat Vehicle, Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amphibious_Combat_Vehicle
  2. Amphibious Combat Vehicle, BAE Systems. www.baesystems.com/en-us/product/amphibious-combat-vehicle
  3. Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV) 1.1, United States of America, Army Technology (2023-08-25). www.army-technology.com/projects/amphibious-combat-vehicle-acv-1-1
  4. Amphibious Combat Vehicle Acquisition: Cost Estimate Meets Best Practices, but Concurrency Between Testing and Production Increases Risk (GAO-17-402), US Government Accountability Office (2017-04-18). www.gao.gov/products/gao-17-402
  5. Marines pause amphibious combat vehicle waterborne operations following rollover in California high surf (Todd South), Military Times (2022-07-21). www.militarytimes.com/news/your-marine-corps/2022/07/21/marines-pause-amphibious-combat-vehicle-waterborne-operations-following-rollover-in-california-high-surf
  6. Marine killed in amphibious vehicle rollover crash, 14 others injured: USMC, NBC New York (2023-12-13). nbcnewyork.com/news/national-international/marine-killed-in-amphibious-vehicle-rollover-crash-14-others-injured-usmc/4949134
  7. USMC's Amphibious Assault Vehicle Retired After Over 50 Years Of Service (Joseph Trevithick), The War Zone (2025-10-03). www.twz.com/sea/usmcs-amphibious-assault-vehicle-retired-after-over-50-years-of-service

Last reviewed November 2026. Spotted something to correct or add? Tell us and include a source.

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WaterCar has designed and built amphibious vehicles in Southern California for more than 25 years. We keep this encyclopedia so anyone curious about vehicles that cross between land and water has one place to start, with the sources listed for every fact.

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