USMC’s ACV-30 enters full-rate production

The US Marine Corps (USMC) has awarded a contract to Kongsberg for the full-rate production of the remotely operated turret for the ACV-30 amphibious combat vehicle, according to an August 5 press release. The contract, valued at $117.9 million (£88.56 million/€101.6 million) allows the Kongsberg factory in Johnstown Pennsylvania to move to full-rate production after the full-rate production contract for the ACV-30 vehicles was awarded to BAE Systems in April this year. 

The maximum value of the contract is up to $330 million (£247 million/€284 million) which would cover up to 101 RT-20 turrets, and includes options for additional systems if required. Kongsberg received an initial contract in November 2024 valued at $51 million (£38.28 million/€43.9 million), which covered long-lead items and components for the RT-20. That contract aimed to ensure that delivery timeframes for the turret could be met when the full-rate contract was finally placed.

Numbers and delivery schedules were not revealed by Kongsberg, but BAE Systems has received one contract and a contract modification, the latter was announced in tandem the Kongsberg contract award. Together, they seem to indicate that 61 ACV-30 variants have been ordered, with delivery scheduled for September 2027, according to the US DoD announcement.  

The USMC and Navy had negotiated to lower the price of the ACV-30 prior to placing the $188 million (£141.10 million/€162.0 million) contract with BAE for full-rate production. The end result was that the turrets and vehicles will be manufactured separately and delivered to the Naval Information Warfare Integration Center for integration, according to trade media reports.

Despite those negotiations, a look into the US Navy’s 2025 budget request reveals, “FY2025 reductions in quantities [of the ACV] from 104 to 80 are due to a fiscally constrained environment because of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, increased inflationary pressures, and a higher than anticipated vendor proposal for Full Rate Production Lots 5-6. These factors result in a loss of buying power to procure the number of vehicles in previous budget submission for FY2025 and FY2026.” This led to a total reduction of 48 vehicles in the USMC’s procurement across 2025 and 2026. However, a separate Senate bill proposed in April 2025 may increase funding for ACV procurement. 

The ACV-30 is the latest variant of the family to reach full-rate production. There are four variants in total, the ACV-P, a personnel carrier, ACV-C, a command vehicle, and the ACV-R recovery vehicle. The ACV-P is the most numerous variant and full-rate production was announced in 2020 and it is also armed with a Kongsberg M153 remote weapon station carrying a 12.7 mm heavy machine gun. 

Kongsberg’s continued success in the US

Kongsberg has gained notable success in the US market, which can be challenging for European companies. Regardless, its remote weapon stations (RWS) and remote turrets have been delivered to several US customers, and all are manufactured in the Johnstown facility, leveraging an extensive American supply chain, the press release states. 

It adds that Kongsberg has been “the sole provider of these systems” to the US for the past 20 years. It provides the Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) RWS and the Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station (CROWS) to the US Army, the latter equips US armoured vehicles like the M1 Abrams and Stryker. “More than 20,000 remote weapon stations and remote turrets have been produced in this [Johnstown] facility since it opened in 2008.” It is worth noting, if only for completeness, that Moog has also supplied RWS to the US Army in the form of its RIwP, which is used in the air defence role. 

Outside of this, Kongsberg’s missiles are gaining considerable traction. The Joint Strike Missile (JSM) has been ordered by the US Air Force for internal carriage in the force’s F-35As. It is one of the few missiles qualified for internal carriage with the F-35. And the USMC has ordered the Naval Strike Missile, an anti-ship variant of the JSM, which it intends to deploy from the land from its ROGUE missile launchers. 

Many other European companies have entered the US market including Rheinmetall and of course BAE Systems, although the latter gained a foothold through acquiring United Defense Industries (UDI). UDI was a large US contractor that had produced the M2 Bradley, M113, and M109 Paladin, programmes that BAE continues to support to this day. KNDS maintains a presence in the US, providing contract manufacturing services, but the market has proven notoriously difficult to penetrate from a cold start.  

ACV contract history

2015

• November 24, 2015: The Marine Corps awarded BAE Systems and SAIC contracts totalling $225 million to build prototypes for the Engineering, Manufacturing, and Development (EMD) phase of the ACV 1.1 programme. BAE Systems was tasked with building 13 prototypes.

2018

• June 20, 2018: The Marine Corps awarded a contract to BAE Systems to begin low-rate initial production (LRIP) of the ACV. The initial contract was valued at $198 million for 30 vehicles.

2019

• June 21, 2019: BAE Systems was awarded a $67 million contract modification to draft engineering drawings for the ACV and its mission role variants, including the medium-calibre cannon version.

2021

• February 11, 2021: BAE Systems received a $183.8 million contract modification for the second lot of full-rate production (FRP) vehicles, procuring 36 ACVs.

2022

• August 15, 2022: BAE Systems was awarded an $87.9 million contract modification to support the development and production of the ACV-30, the medium-calibre cannon variant. This contract funded post-Critical Design Review work, production representative test vehicles, and support for test activities.

2023

• December 7, 2023: BAE Systems received a $79 million contract to build and deliver production representative test vehicles (PRTVs) for the ACV-Recovery (ACV-R) variant.

2024

• March 2024: BAE Systems was awarded a contract modification potentially worth $181.9 million to manufacture and deliver 34 ACV-Personnel (ACV-P) variants.
• November 2024: Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace announced a contract worth $51 million for long-lead items for the ACV-30 turret, signalling the start of the programme.

2025

• March 2025: BAE Systems received a $188.5 million contract modification from the U.S. Navy for the production of 30 ACV-30 vehicles.
• July 2025: The Marine Corps awarded Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace a $117.9 million contract modification for the production of 101 Protector Remote Turret 20 (RT20) systems, which will be integrated onto the ACV-30 variant. This contract has a total potential value of up to $271.5 million if all options are exercised.
• August 4, 2025: BAE Systems was awarded a $181.1 million contract modification for the procurement of 31 full-rate production ACV-30 vehicles.

Calibre comment

The ACV family of vehicles is an interesting programme if only for the length of time that development has taken. Development contracts were placed in 2015, but the request for information was issued in 2011. The ACV-P reached its IOC in 2020, representing a development timeframe of nine years, which is relatively fast compared to platforms like the Ajax reconnaissance vehicle. However, with development for the final variant – the ACV-R – ongoing, the total development and production period for the family is approaching 15 years, which is the average for a complex armoured vehicle programme. 

By Sam Cranny-Evans, published on 6 August, 2025. Credit for the lead image is Cpl. Alexis Sanchez/US Marine Corps photo. It shows an Amphibious Combat Vehicle Command (ACV-C), left, ACV-30, center, and the ACV-Personnel, right, are staged for a static display held by 2d Assault Amphibian Battalion, 2d Marine Division on Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, April 24, 2024.