On Friday, June 5, 2026, the U.S. Department of State approved the potential sale to the Italian Republic of a small batch of AAV-7A1 (Assault Amphibious Vehicle) amphibious assault vehicles in a package worth up to 30.6 million USD.
Photo: Italian Ministry Of Defense
According to the published notice, the government in Rome requested the possible acquisition of three AAVC-7A1 command vehicles and four AAVR-7A1 recovery vehicles.
The request also included the following non-MDE (Major Defense Equipment) items: support equipment; radar-scattering camouflage netting sets; classified technical manuals; and other related elements of program and logistics support.
In the Italian Navy, or Marina Militare, the main user of AAV-7A1 amphibious assault vehicles is the 1st Regiment of the San Marco Marine Brigade, or Brigata Marina “San Marco.” It currently operates 34 vehicles, most of them AAVP-7A1P personnel carriers, numbering 29 vehicles, as well as the aforementioned specialist variants: three AAVC-7A1s and two AAVR-7A1s. All have been upgraded to the RAM/RS standard. The latest contract for the purchase of seven vehicles was concluded on October 21, 2025. Italy is acquiring additional vehicles due to the aging of the fleet and efforts to revitalize it under the National Sea Projection Capability project.
Ultimately, however, they are to be replaced by SuperAV amphibious wheeled armored personnel carriers from Italy’s Iveco Defence Vehicles, or IDV, now part of the Leonardo Group. In May 2023, a decision was made to buy 36 vehicles, designated VBA 8×8, but the Italian armed forces are interested in acquiring another 110: 28 for the navy, 64 for the army, and 18 for the engineering corps. Since May last year, IDV has also offered a non-amphibious variant, designated SuperAV Land.
The AAV-7A1 is gradually becoming a legacy type, as its main user, the U.S. Marine Corps, or USMC, withdrew it from service on September 26, 2025, after 53 years. The vehicles being acquired will therefore come from former USMC stocks.
The vehicles were initially designated LVTP-7, or Landing Vehicle, Tracked, Personnel-7, and were developed by United Defense, formerly part of FMC Corporation. Later, they were produced by BAE Systems Platforms & Services. In the 1980s, the LVTP-7 received new engines, transmissions, and weapon stations under a modernization program, after which it was redesignated AAV-7A1.
Interestingly, AAV-7A1 vehicles remain in service with many armed forces. In addition to Italy, they are used by Argentina, Brazil, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, Taiwan, Spain (which requested the purchase of additional vehicles in 2019 and is now being offered the SuperAV), and Thailand. On March 17, 2023, Greece received approval to purchase 76 AAV-7A1s, while Romania plans to buy 44 vehicles. South Korea, in turn, operates license-built KAAVP-7A1 vehicles, which are to be replaced in the future by the domestically developed KAAV-II.