During the 46th Modern Day Marine 2026 (MDM) trade show at MCB Quantico, Virginia, held on April 28–30 this year, U.S. company General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) unveiled the prototype ARV-30 wheeled reconnaissance combat vehicle, which is competing in a tender for the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) under the Advanced Reconnaissance Vehicle program.
Photos: GDLS
GDLS’s competitor in the above-mentioned wheeled reconnaissance vehicle program, under which vehicles in various versions are to replace LAV-25 Light Armored Vehicles in the USMC’s light armored reconnaissance battalions, is Textron Land Systems, part of Textron Systems, with a prototype based on the Cottonmouth ARV 6×6 model, whose hull has been redesigned compared with the original proposal. On March 2 this year, the USMC announced the completion of competitive testing of the ARV-30 variant prototypes from both bidders. Unlike its competitor, GDLS opted for an eight-wheeled design.
As a reminder, on February 29, 2024, both companies received orders to build prototypes of wheeled reconnaissance vehicles armed with a medium-caliber automatic cannon, designated ARV MCA, or Advanced Reconnaissance Vehicle Medium Caliber Autocannon, as part of the broader ARV program. GDLS received 10,926,309 USD, while Textron Systems received 11,808,000 USD, with completion due by January 2026.
It cannot be ruled out that the ARV MCA variant will also go to the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, which has leased LAV-25s from the USMC since October 2018, as the contracts involved participation by the U.S. Army Contracting Command.
The requirement was for a vehicle equipped with the Kongsberg Protector MCT-30 remote-controlled turret, RT20 variant, armed with a 30 mm ATK Mk44S Bushmaster II automatic cannon, a coaxial 7.62 mm machine gun, and an anti-tank guided missile launcher. It is worth adding that the turret had previously been selected for the heavier BAE Systems ACV-30 Amphibious Combat Vehicle 30mm Cannon amphibious infantry fighting vehicles.
The combat weight of the ARV family is not to exceed 18,500 kg. Plans call for the acquisition of around 500 vehicles, which will replace around 600 LAV-25s at a maximum cost of USD 6.8 billion, with deliveries over five years from the selection of a single bidder, which was originally expected in fiscal year 2024.
In addition to the ARV-30, plans also envisage the introduction of an ARV C4/UAS command vehicle, or Advanced Reconnaissance Vehicle Command, Control, Communications, Computers/Unmanned Aerial Systems, a counter-UAS vehicle, a recovery vehicle, a logistics vehicle, a self-propelled mortar, and a tank destroyer armed with anti-tank guided missiles.
