Programmed to be replaced by the new Amphibious Combat Vehicle, the AAV7A1 RAM/RS family of vehicles will continue to serve the Marine Corps until at least 2030.

Acknowledging that the AAV7A1 RAM/RS family of vehicles previously underwent a series of capability enhancements to improve mobility and reliability and to extend the platforms’ service lives, program descriptions credit a future AAV Upgrade Program with further improving force protection and mobility of the AAV, serving as a capability bridge to fielding and replacement by a new amphibious combat vehicle.

This initiative will improve force protection and platform survivability by integrating technically mature upgrades into the existing hull. These upgrades include belly and sponson armor, blast-mitigating seats, and spall lining, and may also include fuel tank protection, deck liners, and automotive and suspension upgrades to maintain current land and water mobility characteristics, albeit with increased weight growth.

These upgrades are slated for approximately 392 AAVP7A1 RAM/RS, with potential select upgrades applied to the Command and Recovery variants.

As of this writing, the AAV Upgrade Program is expected to enter the acquisition life cycle at Milestone B during FY 2013 and begin the engineering, manufacturing, and development phase. Developmental testing is planned for late FY 2014. Milestone C, authorizing entrance into the production and deployment phase, is scheduled for late FY 2015 and IOC in late FY 2017.

 

MPC

In his 2012 Posture Statement, Amos identified the Marine Personnel Carrier  program as “maturing as a wheeled armored personnel carrier and complements the ACV as a possible solution to the general support lift capacity requirements of Marine forces operating in the littorals.”

Program descriptions echo the characterization, stating the future MPC will be “effective across the range of military operations during sustained operations ashore and reinforce the assault echelon during forcible-entry operations. Both MPC and the new Amphibious Combat Vehicle will replace the legacy Amphibious Assault Vehicles in the Assault Amphibian (AA) Battalions of Marine divisions.”

MPC will field a base vehicle (MPC-P) and two supporting mission role variants (MRV): MPC-C (command) and MPC-R (recovery). Two MPC-Ps lift a reinforced rifle squad. The MPC-C supports mobile battalion command echelon/fire-support coordination center functions, while the MPC-R fulfills mobile recovery and maintenance requirements.

Current concepts envision an MPC Company lifting an infantry battalion in conjunction with the infantry’s organic wheeled assets.

Operationally, the MPC will be employed to allow Marines to continue that inland fight toward the objective once the ACV has established an initial beachhead. Arriving as follow-on support assets, the MPCs will provide a very robust combat capability, with features ranging from MRAP level survivability to the amphibious ability to negotiate 2-foot significant wave height and survive 4-foot plunging surf.

Moreover, the MPCs will support Marines across their spectrum of operations, including the ability to maneuver anywhere inland, on paved roads, and in urban environments.

In the spring of 2008, the Marine Requirements Oversight Council validated the MPC requirement and approved the solution as an advanced-generation eight-wheeled APC to be integrated into the AA Battalions. The MPC program, once launched, will rely on full and open competition throughout the developmental cycle.

August 2012 witnessed the award of four contracts to provide prototype/sample vehicles and hulls to be used for demonstrations of water mobility, blast protection and human factors engineering. The contracts were awarded to Lockheed Martin, SAIC, BAE Systems, and General Dynamics Land Systems.

Each of the contractors will provide a “full up” vehicle, with the first of those vehicles slated for delivery to the Amphibious Vehicle Test Branch at Camp Pendleton in January 2013. The deliveries will be staggered between the four contractors, meaning that only one system will be “on the ramp” at any time and that testing  will likely extend until October 2013.

The full up vehicles will be used to drive, to swim, and to validate human factors characteristics. The final area will focus on capabilities versus comfort levels and the types of equipment that can be carried by embarked Marines.

In addition to the performance vehicles the contractors will also provide two additional vehicles or vehicle hulls that are weighted internally to simulate the power train. These additional hulls and hull sections will be taken out to the Nevada Automotive Test Center (NATC) and subjected to live fire survivability testing.

Program planners note that the goal of the demonstrations is to validate the technologies and capabilities that industry currently possess that could meet the Marine Corps’ requirements going forward. Reiterating that the MPC is a complementary capability to whatever the ACV program will be, they highlight the criticality of the emerging ACV AoA in defining the strategy for both systems.

This article was first published in Marine Corps Outlook: 2012-2013 Edition.