CONNECTING THE DEFENCE COMMUNITY WITH INSIGHT, INTELLIGENCE & OPPORTUNITIES

Officially Supported By:   Supply2Defence

Official Media Partners for:

BAE Systems has handed over the first of a new variant of the Amphibious Combat Vehicle to the US Marine Corps for testing.

The Command variant (ACV-C) is designed to provide the highest levels of communications, coordination, and analysis on the battlefield to support command and control.

BAE Systems is under contract to deliver two variants to the Marine Corps under the ACV Family of Vehicles program: the ACV personnel carrier (ACV-P) and the ACV-C. A 30mm cannon (ACV-30) is currently under contract for design and development and a recovery variant (ACV-R) is also planned.

The ACV-C employs multiple work stations for Marines to maintain and manage situational awareness in the battle space. The work stations access independent networks for advanced digital communications while on the move. This capability supports immediate information synchronisation in the application of combat power.

The ACV platform was designed to grow and adapt to mission needs, allowing space for new capabilities as technology evolves such as turreted, reconnaissance, electronic warfare, anti-air, and UAS systems integration.

The Marine Corps and BAE Systems entered full-rate production on the ACV program with a contract award in December, achieving its most significant milestone to date along with the Marine Corps’ decision to declare Initial Operational Capability (IOC). Work is currently underway on the ACV-30 variant.

John Swift, Director of amphibious programs at BAE Systems, said: “This ACV’s base design for payload makes it a uniquely adaptable platform for the integration of numerous mission capability sets.

“The delivery of the first ACV-C for testing is significant as it provides Marines with advanced operational control for defeating adversaries. Marines will be able to quickly receive and analyse data, coordinate battlefield functions, and transmit information to provide terminal mission control rapidly from the mobile protected ACV-C.”

ACV production and support is taking place at BAE Systems locations in Stafford, Virginia; San Jose, California; Sterling Heights, Michigan; Aiken, South Carolina; and York, Pennsylvania.

image courtesy of US Marine Corps

If you would like to join our community and read more articles like this then please click here

Post written by: Matt Brown

RELATED ARTICLES

ZeroUSV welcomed recently representatives from the Royal Navy, MOD and NSO (National Shipbuilding Office) to Manor Marine’s headquarters in Portland for a VIP tour showcasing the company’s expanding autonomous maritime capabilities. The visit follows ZeroUSV’s recent strategic investment in Manor Marine, strengthening the partnership and boosting sovereign UK production capacity for the company’s Oceanus class uncrewed surface vessels (USVs). During the tour, guests were shown around Manor Marine’s facilities and given an update on the ongoing build of ZeroUSV’s next-generation Oceanus17 platform, which remains on track to be launched in July this year. The tour demonstrated ZeroUSV’s ability to rapidly scale production of advanced British-built autonomous vessels, while highlighting the strength of UK sovereign shipbuilding and innovation within the maritime defence sector. Designed for long-range, over-the-horizon operations, Oceanus17 represents a significant step forward in modular, multi-role autonomous maritime capability. The 17-metre platform features a 4-tonne payload capacity and a 20ft ISO-compatible mission deck, enabling rapid reconfiguration for a wide range of defence, security and commercial maritime missions. Matthew Ratsey, Managing Director of ZeroUSV, said: “It was a pleasure to welcome representatives from the Royal Navy and MOD, and showcase the progress being made across our Oceanus programme. “The visit highlighted not only the pace at which we are developing advanced autonomous capabilities, but also the strength of British engineering and sovereign shipbuilding. Through our partnership with Manor Marine, we are building the foundations needed to deliver scalable, mission-ready USV capability for both defence and commercial applications.” Picture caption: Matthew Ratsey with the VIP tour aboard the Oceanus17 vessel 

May 27, 2026

Maritime - ZeroUSV Demonstrates UK Sovereign Maritime Capability During VIP Tour

ZeroUSV welcomed recently representatives from the Royal Navy, MOD and NSO (National Shipbuilding Office) to Manor Marine’s headquarters in Portland

Decision Advantage Under Fire: Why military connectivity must become a mission fabric

May 27, 2026

Land - Decision Advantage Under Fire: Why military connectivity must become a mission fabric

By Mark Todd, Innovation and Technology Director, BAE Systems Digital Intelligence In modern operations, the traditional definition of “connectivity” is no