BAE Systems and its partner Iveco Defense Vehicles have concluded the shipboard testing phase off the coast of Italy for a prototype amphibious combat vehicle the companies built for the U.S. Marine Corps, Defense News reported Wednesday. Jen Judson writes John Swift, ACV program manager at BAE, told the publication Wednesday at the Navy League’s Sea-Air-Space […] More

Spain has awarded General Dynamics’ Spain-based branch company Santa Barbara Sistemas a $99 million contract for research-and-development work on an 8×8 armored vehicle prototype, Defense News reported Saturday. Esteban Villarejo writes Spain seeks a replacement for the 6×6 BMR armored vehicle and U.S.-made M-113 armored personnel carrier. General Dynamics has proposed its Piranha Class 5 platform for Spain’s armored vehicle […] More

BAE Systems is poised to commence vehicle testing activities after delivering to the U.S. Marine Corps the first production representative test vehicle of the amphibious combat vehicle 30-millimeter cannon variant. The aerospace company said Thursday it will continue to collaborate with the service branch and the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering over the next 15 months to test and demonstrate the PRTV during a Fleet Marine Force event in southern California.

More

BAE Systems and Iveco Defence Vehicles have unveiled the Amphibious Combat Vehicle at an international defense and security exposition in Madrid, Spain, marking the vehicle’s debut outside the United States. ACV-P, the personnel variant and foundation for the entire ACV family of vehicles, took center stage at the FEINDEF event. The fully open-ocean capable platform […] More

The U.S. Marine Corps has asked BAE Systems to look into the possibility of equipping the Amphibious Combat Vehicle with a reconnaissance payload technology intended for data collection and over-the-horizon target detection functions. BAE said Thursday it will study a potential command, control, communication, computers and unmanned aerial systems variant of the military vehicle developed […] More

The U.S. Marine Corps has exercised a $184 million contract option to procure additional amphibious combat vehicles from BAE Systems, increasing the number of ACV full-rate production units ordered by the branch to 72. “The ACV was designed to meet the Marines’ needs of today while allowing for growth to meet future mission role requirements," said John Swift, director of amphibious programs at BAE.

More

The U.S. Marine Corps has adopted a low-risk approach to acquire a new amphibious combat vehicle by opting for commercially available technologies, the National Defense Magazine reported Friday. “The recognition of needing to go with something that was low risk — meaning relatively commercially available — so that you could get a new vehicle into the […] More

A joint venture of Bethel Native Corp.‘s federal arm and Unit Company has won a two-year, $37.3 million contract to build a four-bay facility for the U.S. Army to house aircraft, maintain propulsion systems and manage corrosion. The Bethel Federal–Unit JV will construct the facility at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska and is scheduled to complete the project by […] More

A new Visiongain report forecasts the demand for military armored vehicles worldwide to reach $12.4 billion in 2015. The report covers armored vehicles that are designed to endure mines and improvised explosive devices, Visiongain said Friday. Visiongain also presents in the report the global and national shares of the armored vehicle market from 2015 through 2025, […] More

BAE Systems plans to team up with Patria to bid for Australia’s potential $9.28 billion armored fighting vehicle program, Defense News reported Sunday. Nigel Pittaway writes Boeing Defense Australia and Iveco-Oto Melara also plan to forge a partnership to participate in the Land 400 initiative. Australia wants to procure military-off-the-shelf combat reconnaissance vehicles, infantry fighting vehicles and maneuver support vehicles in order […] More