The 'Foreign' Vehicle That Beat Every American Competitor and Replaced the US Marine Corps AAV

The Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV) is the US Marine Corps' new 8x8 amphibious armored vehicle, built by BAE Systems using the Italian-designed Iveco SuperAV hull. It replaces the AAV, a tracked amphibious vehicle that served the Marines for over 53 years before being formally retired in September 2025. In June 2018, BAE Systems won a contract worth up to 1.2 billion dollars, beating SAIC and every other American competitor in one of the most competitive military vehicle trials in modern history. The ACV carries 3 crew and 13 Marines, reaches 65 miles per hour on land, swims using twin rear propellers, and features a V-shaped hull providing MRAP-level blast protection against mines and IEDs. Over 630 vehicles have been ordered across four variants: the ACV-P personnel carrier, the ACV-C command vehicle, the ACV-R recovery vehicle, and the ACV-30 armed with a 30mm Bushmaster cannon. The platform is manufactured at BAE Systems facilities in York, Pennsylvania, with hull components supplied by Iveco Defence Vehicles in Bolzano, Italy. The same Italian-designed hull now equips the US Marine Corps, the Italian Navy, and the Spanish Marines, making it the Western standard for amphibious armored warfare. #AmphibiousCombatVehicle #USMC #MilitaryHistory #BAESystems #IvecoSuperAV