Marine amphibious combat vehicles to return to waterborne operations

Marine Corps Amphibious Combat Vehicles (ACV) with Co. D, 3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion, 1st Marine Division, move in a convoy at the conclusion of Marine Air Ground Task Force Warfighting Exercise (MWX) 2-21 at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, Calif., Feb. 20, 2021. (Sgt. Courtney G. White/Marine Corps)

The Marine Corps’ amphibious combat vehicle is “set to return” to unrestricted waterborne operations after the service developed a new way of using a tow rope for recovery operations, officials said.https://ift.tt/3JOMPwV

The ACV will conduct the workups and deployment with the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit beginning this spring. However, if a unit has met all the criteria to begin training with the ACV in unprotected waters, you could see training events sooner than this spring with the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, Marine Corps spokesman Maj. Jim Stenger told Marine Corps Times on Friday.

The Corps put a safety halt in early September 2021 on running the ACV — the decadeslong project to replace the aging amphibious assault vehicle, in unrestricted forms.

The Sept. 3, 2021, safety notice had identified a problem with the ACV’s towing mechanism. The service made the decision out of an “abundance of caution,” Marine spokesman Maj. Jim Stenger told Marine Corps Times in September 2021.https://ift.tt/3JOMPwV

“The Marine Corps is working on identifying and fixing the root cause of the problem,” Stenger said. “Realistic training is a vital component of readiness, and the Marine Corps is committed to ensuring Marines train under the safest conditions possible; this includes ensuring the functionality of vehicles and equipment.”

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Once the units are equipped with the new tow rope solution, they then will be authorized to use the ACV in unrestricted operations.

Before they get the new ropes, however, Marines operating ACVs are restricted to land mobility, gunnery operations and amphibious operations in protected waters, according to a Marine press release.

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