BAE Systems ACV-30 Amphibious Combat Vehicle with Kongsberg 30mm remote turret conducting a ship-to-shore landing transition.

USMC orders 30 additional ACV-30 from BAE Systems

The US Marine Corps has awarded BAE Systems a $195 million (£155.03 million/€186.20 million) contract for 30 additional ACV-30 amphibious combat vehicles, bringing the total number of ACV-30 vehicles on order to over 150.

By Sam Cranny-Evans, published on February 4, 2026. 

BLUF: 

  • The USMC has ordered 30 additional ACV-30s from BAE Systems, which will increase the number of infantry fighting vehicles it has available. 
  • Under Force Design 2030 the US Marines are reshaping themselves to be a more mobile, littoral force capable of holding enemy shipping and air defences at risk. This is driving procurement in a range of areas including conventional platforms and loitering munitions. 

BAE Systems has been awarded a $195 million (£155.03 million/€186.20 million) contract for the production of an additional 30 Amphibious Combat Vehicles (ACVs) for the US Marine Corps, according to a February 3 press release.

The order increases the total number of ACV-30 variants requested by the service to more than 150. It is one of four planned variants designed to replace the ageing Assault Amphibious Vehicle (AAV), which has been in service since 1972.

Equipped with a stabilized Kongsberg 30mm remote turret, the infantry fighting vehicle provides organic direct-fire support to infantry while maintaining the internal capacity to transport eight embarked Marines and three crew. It should also represent a significant uplift in protection over the AAV. 

ACV programme status 

While the ACV-P personnel variant reached Initial Operational Capability (IOC) in 2020, the ACV-30 entered full-rate production in 2025. The final variant of the family, the ACV-R recovery vehicle, is currently undergoing testing with three production-representative vehicles delivered to date.

The US Marine Corps and Navy previously negotiated to lower the unit cost of the ACV-30 following inflationary pressures and fiscal constraints introduced by the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023. These budgetary pressures resulted in an overall reduction of 48 vehicles across the 2025 and 2026 procurement cycles.

To manage costs, the US government procures the Kongsberg turrets separately. The base vehicles are manufactured at BAE Systems facilities in York and Johnstown, Pennsylvania, before being transported to the Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Atlantic in Charleston, South Carolina, for turret integration.

Tech profile: ACV-30

The ACV-30 is the infantry fighting vehicle variant of the family designed to provide line of sight fire support for the US Marines. It provides more firepower than any of the Corps’ previous armoured personnel carriers, but is essentially intended to make up for the divestment of the M1A1 Abrams tank battalions and the 120 mm guns that they brought to a firefight.

  • Platform: Based on the Iveco Super AV
  • Engine: Six-cylinder, 690 hp
  • Speed: Over 55 mph (89 km/h) on paved roads
  • Amphibious Range: 12 nautical miles (22 km) ship-to-shore
  • Weapon System: Kongsberg RT-20 Remote Turret
  • Main Armament: Mk44 Bushmaster II 30mm chain gun
  • Secondary Armament: M240 7.62mm coaxial machine gun
  • Capacity (ACV-30): 8 embarked Marines + 3 crew
  • Weight (Base Platform): Approx. 35 tonnes
  • Variants in Family: Personnel (ACV-P), Command (ACV-C), 30mm Gun (ACV-30), Recovery (ACV-R)

Calibre comment: ACV and Force Design 

Under Force Design 2030 the US Marines started an initiative to reshape themselves to be a more mobile, littoral force capable of holding enemy shipping and air defences at risk. This is driving procurement in a range of areas including conventional platforms and loitering munitions through the Organic Precision Fires-Light (OPF-L) programme. They must be able to help the US Navy contest sea lines of communication in the Indo-Pacific, which they plan to do with their NMESIS anti-ship missile system and long–range fires from the M142 HIMARS. Platforms like the ACV-30 will help the Marines deploy ahead of a naval force or into different areas to create the dispersion that is hoped to complicate China’s process of countering US theatre access. You can read more about NMESIS in the articles below. 

The lead image shows an ACV-30 as it comes ashore during an amphibious landing. Credit: BAE Systems.

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