USMC to award ARV-30 prototype contracts in 2026

The Textron Advanced Reconnaissance Vehicle 30 mm cannon (ARV-30) prototype conducts open water testing at Camp Pendleton, CA. (Program Executive Officer Land Systems)

The US Marine Corps (USMC) is expected to award contracts to Textron and General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) to build 16 Advanced Reconnaissance Vehicle (ARV) prototypes this year, executives at GDLS told Janes on 27 February.

Testing for the pre-prototype phase was completed in February, said Phil Skuta, director of strategy and business development for USMC and US Navy at GDLS, in an interview with Janes . USMC officials changed the contract vehicle type from a Federal Acquisition Regulation-based contract to an Other Transaction Authority (OTA), which made achieving the timelines easier, said Richard Trotter, ARV programme director at GDLS.

“I think the marines have pivoted in terms of their acquisition strategy from a traditional [engineering manufacturing development] contract to this OTA kind of in the last year or so, which I think will give them additional flexibility as we execute, and allowed them probably to get to production quicker than the old traditional ways that would have been followed in the past,” Trotter said in a 27 February interview.

The ARV is envisioned as the central platform for its light armoured reconnaissance (LAR) battalions, a new formation part of USMC's Force Design modernisation campaign.

One of the major milestones for the programme was the first open water swim, according to a 2 March press release from Program Executive Office Land Systems. The test took place at the Amphibious Vehicle Testing Branch in Camp Pendleton, California, between January and February 2026. Other parts of the testing included still water and calm water mobility, according to the press release.