Modern Day Marine 2012 : Industry Presents MPC Offerings

Modern Day Marine took on a somewhat European flavour this week as two of the contenders for the US Marine Corps (USMC) Marine Personnel Carrier (MPC) requirement showcased their offerings.

Both BAE Systems and Lockheed Martin used the exhibition to display variants of established European 8x8 APCs while at the same time highlighting the US content inherent in their designs.

The USMC is planning to introduce a modern APC capability that will complement the Assault Amphibious Vehicle (AAV) and its replacement within the Assault Amphibian Battalion.

In August 2012, the marines awarded £3.5 million demonstration contracts to four companies for their vehicles: the Lockheed Martin Havoc, the BAE Systems SuperAV, the SAIC Terrex, and an as yet unspecified General Dynamics vehicle.

Each vehicle will undergo water performance evaluation, survivability testing, and an analysis of human factors and stowage capacity through until the third quarter of 2013.

BAE Systems used the exhibition to officially unveil its vehicle, which is based on partner’s Iveco Defence Vehicle’s SuperAV but with some modifications to meet the USMC requirements.

John Swift, BAE Systems MPC programme manager, said additional armouring had been added to increase survivability while the interior had been increased to accommodate the ’95 percentile marine’.

The vehicle, which was originally developed for the Italian armed forces, weighs in at 58,000 lbs fully loaded but still has 28% reserve buoyancy.

‘What that gives you is growth potential in adding weight to the vehicle. We have taken this out and tested it in Sea State 3 and it is capable of righting itself if toppled over,’ Swift said. 

If selected for production, BAE is likely to manufacture the vehicles at its York, Pennsylvania, facility – although some components may be imported from Italy.

Lockheed Martin has taken a similar approach to its pursuit of the MPC contract, drafting in the help of Finland’s Patria, using its Armored Modular Vehicle (AMV) as the basis for the Havoc.

Lockheed Marin programme director for land vehicles Ric Magness noted that the AMV has been purchased by six different European countries, is currently in production, and is deployed in Afghanistan.

‘It has been in Afghanistan with the Polish for the past five years, where they have been working closely with the US 101st [Airborne Division]. Whenever they are given a VIP to escort around they choose to use the AMV because of the survivability and level of comfort,’ Magness said.

Lockheed Martin has embedded US content into the design, including technology and protection systems. The vehicle on show featured an RPG net and Textron Marine and Land Systems turret.

Magness said the vehicle would be licensed-produced in the US, although at which company facility was still to be determined. The company is currently working to develop its US supplier base.

Meanwhile, with SAIC also choosing a foreign design in the form of the ST Kenetics Terrex, General Dynamics was keen to highlight the North American nature of its vehicle range. The company declined, however, to name the specific variant being pushed forward for the MPC evaluation.

The four companies each have to provide one vehicle to the Amphibious Vehicle Test Branch at Camp Pendleton in March and April for swim tests as well as two representative hulls for blast tests at the Nevada Automotive Test Center in Carson City, Nevada.