Textron Systems has successfully handed over the Cottonmouth advanced reconnaissance vehicle (ARV) prototype vehicle to the US Marine Corps (USMC).
Delivery of the new prototype vehicle took place at Nevada Automotive Test Center (NATC) in Silver Springs, Nevada, US on 1 December.
The vehicle has been developed in support of the USMC’s ARV programme. The effort also supports the service’s Force Design 2030 initiative.
The latest milestone comes a few months after the company announced the completion of work on the Cottonmouth prototype.
The vehicle has already completed the required contractor verification testing phase to validate the mobility, swim and command, control, communications, computers and uncrewed aerial system (C4UAS) mission capabilities.
The vehicle has now formally entered the government evaluation phase, which is expected to continue through the next year.
Apart from the fully integrated vehicle prototype, the company has also delivered a blast hull to the Aberdeen Test Center along with a systems integration lab (SIL) to the Naval Information Warfare Center-Atlantic.
Prior to the delivery, the SIL and blast hull were undergoing government evaluation and testing.
Textron Systems Land and Sea Systems senior vice-president David Phillips said: “Our Cottonmouth vehicle is a completely clean-sheet design that provides transformative reconnaissance capabilities and meets Marine Corps requirements.
“The vehicle was designed from its inception by listening to customer requirements. Because of its smaller size, the marines can quickly deploy next generational combat power to the fight and lets commanders meet any mission anywhere.”
The new amphibious 6×6 Cottonmouth ARV provides lightweight multi-modal capability to the US Marines. It has been purpose-built to serve as a ‘Naval Sensor Node’ to support USMC in carrying out various expeditionary operations.
The platform is integrated with multi-domain command and control suite to support the C4UAS Mission Role Variant.
