BAE awarded $79 million for three ACV-R test vehicles

Contractor BAE Systems has received a $79 million contract modification to produce three production-representative test vehicles for the Amphibious Combat Vehicle Recovery variant, according to a Pentagon announcement.

ACV-R is the fourth and final variant planned within the Marine Corp’s ACV program, following personnel carrier (ACV-P), command and control (ACV-C) and 30mm cannon (ACV-30) versions.

Under the new award, BAE will deliver three ACV-Rs for government testing, which is expected to occur “next year,” a separate announcement from BAE states.

Equipped with a winch and crane, the ACV-R is intended to provide field support, maintenance, and recovery for the vehicle family. According to BAE, ACV-R will be capable of recovering vehicles weighing more than 30 tons.

“One of the most challenging things that can happen on the battlefield is for a vehicle to breakdown or need to be recovered,” BAE vice president of amphibious programs Garrett Lacaillade said in a statement included in the company’s release. “The ACV-R is a modern, highly capable recovery and mobile repair unit that provides critical expeditionary support to immobilized ACVs in the field and provides maintenance support capabilities without risking our Marines’ safety.”

The Marine Corps expects the ACV-R to achieve initial operational capability in the first quarter of fiscal year 2028, budget documents state.

The service’s FY-25 budget request looks to continue acquisitions of earlier ACV variants, requesting $810 million for 80 ACV-30s -- a variant equipped with a stabilized, medium-caliber, remote turret system.

This procurement quantity reflects a reduction of 48 vehicles compared to the prior year’s expectations, due to spending caps under the Fiscal Responsibility Act and higher than expected costs for the vehicles, according to justification documents.