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Next USMC Amphibious Combat Vehicle to Have Drone Backup

Back in March, defense contractor BAE Systems announced it had been selected to devise a new recovery variant of the Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV). It will take the company about 20 months to come up with this version, and until then, the Marine Corps needs its ACVs to become even better at their jobs.
BAE Systems ACV 9 photos
Photo: BAE Systems
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More to the point, the military branch is looking to incorporate into these machines something called a C4/UAS payload. C4/UAS stands for Command, Control, Communication and Computers / Unmanned Aerial Systems. To see how that’ll go, the USMC tasked BAE Systems with a Phase 1 study, which may end up in the company modifying an ACV to incorporate the new hardware.

We are not being told exactly what type of hardware the C4/UAS is made up of, but BAE says the system “will feature a state-of-the-art battle management system and advanced sensing capabilities.“ Moreover, it will be an open-source solution that will not only be compatible with other ACV variants, but will also support the integration of future technologies into the existing platform.

The BAE Systems ACV is an 8x8 machine that can be used for a variety of purposes and can be deployed from a variety of U.S. Navy ships. It weighs 35 tons, can carry a crew of up to 16 people, depending on configuration, and has a range of up to 325 miles (523 km). The thing moves at speeds of 65 mph (105 kph) on paved roads and can swim at 6 knots in the water.

Being designed for combat, it’s an all-wheel-drive chassis around which a blast-resistant hull was wrapped. Together with energy-absorbing seats, the ACV should provide enough protection for the occupants in case of need.

At the time of writing, and not including the above-mentioned C4/UAS variant, BAE Systems is working on an ACV command and control variant, one packing a medium caliber cannon, and a recovery version.
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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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