Fighting with yesterday’s AAV, tomorrow!
The USMC is updating their Amphibious Assault Vehicles (AAV) as the shiny new replacement, the Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV), will not be operational for like another decade (insert the sound of holding your breath here).
Some 392 AAV7A1s are to receive an extensive survivability upgrade in a $194 million contract. Most of these are improvement to survive improvised explosive devices (IED) with the Marines inside being able to actually survive and walk away, and other weapons when operating in Iraq and elsewhere. Improvements to be made include flat-sided buoyant ceramic armor panels, new shock-mitigation seats, replacing benches in older AAVs, and a new transmission, increasing the vehicle’s top speed from a slow crawl to more of a full-out crawl.
If you have ever ridden in an AAV, you know exactly where I am coming from.