On Wednesday, April 29, 2026, during the 46th Modern Day Marine 2026 (MDM) trade show at MCB Quantico in Virginia, U.S. company BAE Systems Inc., part of the UK-based BAE Systems, announced on social media that it had completed the first production ACV-30 (Amphibious Combat Vehicle 30mm Cannon) amphibious infantry fighting vehicle for the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC).
Photo: BAE Systems Inc.
As a reminder, on March 14, 2025, the U.S. Marine Corps Systems Command (MCSC) in Quantico signed a 188,455,777 USD contract, with BAE Systems Land & Armaments LP, part of BAE Systems Inc., for the production of the first 30 production ACV-30 vehicles in the final configuration. Then, on August 4 of the same year, another batch of 31 vehicles was contracted.
In the meantime, additional batches of Protector MCT-30 (Medium Caliber Turret) remote weapon turret systems were contracted from the subcontractor, Norwegian company Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace, part of the Kongsberg group: 101 units on August 4, 2025, and 175 units on November 4, 2024.
Earlier, on February 1, 2024, BAE Systems Inc. announced that it had delivered the first pre-production ACV-30 to the user.
The ACV-30 is the third variant in the family of vehicles designed, developed, and built by BAE Systems and Iveco Defence Vehicles on the basis of the British-Italian SuperAV vehicle, following their victory in the program in 2018. Earlier deliveries included the baseline ACV-P (Personnel) infantry carriers and the first ACV-C (Command) command-and-control vehicle, while development of the ACV-R (Recovery) technical support variant has also been ordered. They replace the AAV-7A1 (Assault Amphibious Vehicle) family of amphibious armored personnel carriers, which was withdrawn from service on October 2, 2025.
A technology demonstrator of this vehicle variant debuted on September 25, 2018, during the 38th Modern Day Marine (MDM) trade show at MCB Quantico. The ACV 1.1 chassis was integrated with a Protector MCT-30 turret armed with a 30 mm ATK XM813 automatic cannon with a range of 3,000 m, an FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank guided missile launcher, and a four-cell Arnold Defense Fletcher launcher with WGU-59/B APKWS (Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System) laser guidance modules for 70 mm Hydra 70 unguided rockets, as well as smoke grenade launchers. The turret was fitted with a day camera, a thermal camera, and a laser rangefinder. The fire-control system allows targets to be automatically located and identified in hunter-killer mode.
Despite the integration of the turret, ample space was retained for dismounted troops and cargo, while maintaining an appropriate level of ballistic protection. The unmanned turret eliminates the need for additional space inside the hull, such as a turret basket required by older manned systems, and also reduces overall weight, providing better mobility.
The first production contract, worth 67 million USD, for development of the ACV-30 variant was signed on April 25, 2019.
We have completed the first #ACV30 chassis for the U.S. Marine Corps.
This milestone equips Marines with advanced capabilities for challenging environments, helping ensure mission success.
Learn more: https://t.co/sk6ZJtxBxx #AnyMissionLandOrSea #AmphibiousCombatVehicle… pic.twitter.com/7PLaUa1Kx1
— BAE Systems, Inc. (@BAESystemsInc) April 29, 2026