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.
TypeAmphibious armored personnel carrier
Place of originUnited States
Service history
In service1972–2025 (United States Marine Corps)
Used bySee Operators
Wars
Production history
DesignerFMC Corporation
Designed1964–1969
Manufacturer
Produced1972–present
Specifications
Mass29.1 t (64,000 lb)
Length7.94 m (26 ft 1 in)
Width3.27 m (10 ft 9 in)
Height3.26 m (10 ft 8 in)
Crew3+21

Armor45 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)
EngineDetroit Diesel 8V-53T (AAV7), 300 kW (400 hp); Cummins VTA-903T (AAV7A1), 390 kW (525 hp)
Suspensiontorsion-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 speed24–32 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.