Assault Amphibious Vehicle
| AAVP7A1 RAM/RS | |
|---|---|
An Assault Amphibious Vehicle of the U.S. Marines, assigned to the 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Convoy, conduct a simulated amphibious assault during exercise BALTOPS 2017 in Latvia. | |
| Type | Amphibious armored personnel carrier |
| Place of origin | United States |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1972–2025 (United States Marine Corps) |
| Used by | See Operators |
| Wars | |
| Production history | |
| Designer | FMC Corporation |
| Designed | 1964–1969 |
| Manufacturer |
|
| Produced | 1972–present |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 29.1 t (64,000 lb) |
| Length | 7.94 m (26 ft 1 in) |
| Width | 3.27 m (10 ft 9 in) |
| Height | 3.26 m (10 ft 8 in) |
| Crew | 3+21 |
| Armor | 45 mm (1.8 in) |
Main armament | Mk 19 40 mm automatic grenade launcher (rounds: 96 ready; 768 stowed) and 12.7 mm M2HB heavy machine gun(rounds: 200 ready; 1,000 stowed) |
| Engine | Detroit Diesel 8V-53T (AAV7), 300 kW (400 hp); Cummins VTA-903T (AAV7A1), 390 kW (525 hp) |
| Suspension | torsion-bar-in-tube (AAV7A1); torsion bar (AAV7A1 RAM-RS) |
Operational range | 480 km (300 miles); 20 NM in water, including survival in Sea State 5 |
| Maximum speed | 24–32 km/h (15–20 mph) off-road, 72 km/h (45 mph) surfaced road, 13.2 km/h (8.2 mph) water |
The Assault Amphibious Vehicle (AAV)—official designation AAV7 (Assault Amphibious Vehicle, Model 7), formerly known as LVT7 (Landing Vehicle, Tracked, Model 7)—is a fully tracked amphibious landing vehicle manufactured by BAE Systems Platforms & Services (previously by United Defense, a former division of FMC Corporation).
The AAV7 was the primary amphibious troop transport of the United States Marine Corps from the 1970s until the first half of the 2020s. It was used by U.S. Marine Corps Amphibious Assault Battalions to land the surface assault elements of the landing force and their equipment in a single lift from assault shipping during amphibious operations to inland objectives and to conduct mechanized operations and related combat support in subsequent mechanized operations ashore. It is also operated by other forces. Marines call them "amtracs", a shortening of their original designation, "amphibious tractor".
In June 2018, the Marine Corps announced they had selected the BAE Systems/Iveco wheeled SuperAV for the Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV) program to supplement and ultimately replace the AAV. The AAV7 was eventually retired from U.S. Marine Corps service in May 2025.