The Marine Corps will, in the near term, field an ACV in
order to provide protected mobility for our infantry units throughout the
varied terrain mixes in the littorals. The ACV will be amphibious. However, it
will normally rely on surface connectors to conduct the preponderance of its ship-to-shore
movement.
Risk over the midterm will be mitigated through
survivability and sustainment upgrades to our current self-deploying Amphibious
Assault Vehicles (AAV) to extend their service life through 2035.
In a longer term effort, in concert with the Navy, the
Marine Corps will continue to explore capabilities that better enable
high-speed, extended range surface littoral maneuver from ship-to-objective in
order to fully replace its legacy AAVs that were first fielded in 1972.
An ACV video has been produced to provide the background
and strategy behind the ACV acquisition decision:
http://www.mccdc.marines.mil/Resources/AmphibiousCombatVehicle/ACVVideo.aspx