On July 24, 2018, the Iveco-Oto Melara Consortium (CIO), which is 50% owned by Leonardo, signed a contract worth 159 million Euros with the Italian Ministry of Defence for the acquisition of the first 10 new Centauro II armoured vehicles. The signing ceremony took place at Palazzo Guidoni, the headquarters of the Italian Secretariat General of Defence and of the National Armaments Directorate. It was attended by the Secretary General of Defence and National Armaments Director, Aerial Squadron Marshall Carlo Magrassi, the Italian Army Chief of Staff, General Salvatore Farina, and the Director of the Land Armaments, Lieutenant General Francesco Castrataro.
Along with Japan, Italy is one of the few countries to operate large 8×8 vehicles armed with a 120-mm tank gun, and capable of a large range of battlefield missions, and it has now ordered the improved Centauro II version (Iveco photo)
This is the first tranche out of a total 136 units. The contract also includes spares and logistic support.
The contract value for Leonardo amounts to approximately 92 million Euros. The company will be responsible for the development and integration of the complete turret defence system, including the observation, targeting and communications systems.
Centauro II is a major step forward compared to the Centauro I in terms of power, situational awareness, mobility, ergonomics, shooting behaviour and communications, all while providing maximum crew protection. It is a latest-generation wheeled armoured vehicle that can operate in any number of scenarios: from national security missions to peacekeeping and support operations and in other operational theatres in which the Armed Forces need to intervene.
BAE Systems rolled out the first of 16 Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV) 1.1 prototypes to the U.S. Marine Corps in a ceremony on 13 December 2016 at the company’s York, Pennsylvania facility. BAE Systems’ ACV 1.1 offering is a fully amphibious, ship-launchable and ship-recoverable 8×8 wheeled combat vehicle.
Roll out of first Amphibious Combat Vehicle 1.1 to U.S. Marine Corps
«BAE Systems has a long-standing legacy of supporting the Marine Corps’ amphibious mission», said John Swift, the company’s director for the ACV 1.1 program. «That expertise, coupled with the hard work of our dedicated ACV team, has allowed us to deliver the first of these vehicles ahead of schedule».
BAE Systems’ solution for ACV 1.1 leverages an existing platform provided by Iveco Defence Vehicles. It is highly effective at sea when compared to any other amphibious vehicle in production today, providing superior land mobility and state-of-the-art systems survivability.
«As the Marine Corps begins testing we are confident that the capabilities of these vehicles will be proven», Swift said.
The BAE Systems solution balances the Marine Corps’ demands for an affordable, production-ready platform with added designs for increased force protection, water and land mobility, lethality, transportability, and survivability.
BAE Systems’ ACV 1.1 is equipped with a robust 700HP engine, providing a significant power increase over the Assault Amphibious Vehicle currently operated by the Marine Corps. The vehicle excels in all-terrain mobility and has a suspended interior seat structure for 13 embarked Marines, blast protected positions for an additional crew of three, and improved survivability and force protection over currently fielded systems.
The Marine Corps awarded BAE Systems a $103.7 million contract for the Engineering, Manufacturing, and Development (EMD) phase of the ACV 1.1 program in November 2015, one of two EMD contracts issued. During this phase, the company is producing 16 prototypes that will be tested by the Marine Corps starting in the first quarter of 2017.
BAE Systems has long been a trusted supplier to the Marine Corps across multiple domains and has more than 70 years of experience designing and building amphibious vehicles. The company is also a leading provider of combat vehicles, having produced more than 100,000 systems for customers worldwide. Iveco Defence Vehicles brings additional proven experience, having designed and built more than 30,000 multi-purpose, protected, and armored military vehicles in service today.
BAE Systems was awarded a U.S. Marine Corps contract for the Engineering, Manufacturing, and Development phase of the Amphibious Combat Vehicle 1.1 program
Specifications
Gross vehicle weight
67,500 lbs/30,617 kg
Payload
Up to 7,280 lbs/3,302 kg
Personnel capacity
13 + 3 crew
Speed Paved road
>65 mph/105 km/h
Speed Open ocean
6 knots/6.9 mph/11.1 km/h
Range on road at 55 mph/89 km/h
Up to 325 miles/523 km
Range at sea followed by land
Up to 12 NM/13.8 miles/22.2 km followed by 250+ miles/402+ km on land
Turning radius
36 feet/11 m curb to curb turning radius
Side slope
>30%
Gradient
>60%
Overall length
350 inches/8.9 m
Width
124 inches/3.1 m
Height (hull)
113 inches/2.8 m
The optimum balance of sea and land mobility, survivability and payload – a true, no-compromise 8×8 amphibious platform
