Science Applications International (SAIC) has been awarded a contract by the US Marine Corps (USMC) Programme Executive Office – Land Systems (PEO-LS) to support the agency’s assault amphibious vehicle (AAV) upgrade programme.
Under the agreement, SAIC will engineer, design and test upgrades to 10 prototype and 52 low-rate initial production (LRIP) vehicles for the legacy AAV personnel-carrier variant platform programme.
The initial $16m multiple-award, firm fixed-price contract, which has a 10-month performance period, initially involves executing preliminary and critical design reviews.
Furthermore, SAIC can exercise options for prototype vehicle builds and trials, followed by a LRIP, which would bring the overall value of the contract to more than $192m.
SAIC Navy and Marine Corps Customer Group senior vice-president and general manager Tom Watson said that the company’s approach builds upon its support to similar vehicles, such as the AAVC7 and mine-resistant ambush-protected class of combat vehicles.
"SAIC’s past performance demonstrates its ability to adhere to schedule, improve existing vehicles from assembly to integration and test, and still reduce risk and cost," Watson said.
The company will also work on modernising the AAV to offer enhanced protection, while achieving land and water mobility, which in turn advances AAV’s combat ability.
Ship-to-objective manoeuvre (STOM) is a transformational strategic application of long-term USMC capabilities for operational manoeuvres from the sea (OMFTS), which are executed by the AAV platform.
The highly mobile, tracked armoured amphibious vehicles are capable of attacking any shoreline from the well decks of navy assault ships, while carrying marines and cargo through hostile environments.
