The Marine Corps is Getting a Meaner Amphibious Assault Vehicle

This beautiful beast could be the leathernecks’ latest war machine. 

The U.S. Marine Corps has culled more than a dozen contenders down to a pair of armored, floating transports to replace its current Amphibious Assault Vehicle. Bidders BAE Systems (pictured above) and Science Applications International Corp. have advance to the final round of the high-stakes competition to build the Marines’ new Amphibious Combat Vehicle.

As we saw with the Army’s plan to replace its venerable High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (Humvee), the Marines also need to update their equipment to better adapt to modern wartime situations, as well as you know, all those military conflicts and terror uprisings that seem to be breaking out all over the planet.  

BAE says its eight-wheel drive war machine boasts a 700-horsepower six-cylinder engine, while SAIC touts its vehicle’s tolerance for the six-foot surf and sea state three. BAE’s contender transports 13 Marines, in addition to its crew of three, while the SAIC machine carries eleven in addition to its crew.

The two companies will battle it out in the final round, which starts in the second half of 2016, with an eye toward the winner delivering new vehicles to the Marines by 2018. 


“Our vehicle was designed to be fully amphibious with exceptional ground mobility and protection,”said Deepak Bazaz, director of new and amphibious vehicles at BAE Systems.


Good luck, and Semper Fi, fellas. 

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Photos by BAE Systems