Norwegian contractor Kongsberg Defense and Aerospace has received a $329 million award to build 175 medium-caliber cannon remote turret systems for the Marine Corps' Amphibious Combat Vehicle 30mm cannon variant, according to a Nov. 4 announcement.
Under the award, Kongsberg will deliver its Protector Remote Turret 20 (RT-20) system for full-rate production ACV-30s, with work expected to conclude by June 2028, the notice states.
Last spring, the Marine Corps posted a solicitation seeking additional vendors that might be capable of building these turrets, though the government lacked the ACV technical data package.
Vehicle maker BAE Systems had already been working closely with Kongsberg to integrate the RT-20 turret onto the ACV. Three production-representative test vehicles, delivered to the government in February, are equipped with the RT-20.
According to a separate announcement from Kongsberg, the Nov. 4 award signals the start of full-rate production for the ACV-30. The initial award under the contract is worth $51 million, the notice states, covering long-lead subcomponents of the turret systems.
“This agreement is an important milestone for the U.S. Marine Corps ACV-30 program, enabling rapid deliveries when full-rate production starts,” Kongsberg President Eirik Lie said in a statement included in the release. “We are pleased that U.S. Marine Corp has selected the highly advanced 30mm PROTECTOR remote turret system from Kongsberg in the program.”
The Marine Corps plans to procure 80 ACV-30s in fiscal year 2025 and expects the variant to achieve initial operational capability in the third quarter of FY-26, budget documents indicate.
This FY-25 procurement profile reflects a reduction of 24 vehicles compared to earlier plans due to program cost growth and funding cuts imposed by the Fiscal Responsibility Act. The Marine Corps included $340 million for added ACV-30 procurement on its unfunded priority list.
According to budget documents, a higher-than-expected vendor proposal was largely attributed to the transition to procuring the ACV-30 variant, which is more complex than the prior two ACV variants due to the turret weapon system. In September, a service spokesperson told Inside Defense negotiations over cost mitigation measures were ongoing.