| Amphibious Assault Vehicle |
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| CATEGORIES ABOUT AMPHIBIOUS ASSAULT VEHICLE | |
| amphibious vehicles | |
| united states marine corps equipment | |
| 1972 introductions | |
| gulf war vehicles | |
The Amphibious Assault Vehicle ('''AAV''')—official designation '''AAV-7A1''' (formerly known as '''LVT-7''') is the current Amphibious troop transport of the United States Marine Corps and is also operated by other forces. The AAV-7A1 is a fully tracked amphibious landing vehicle manufactured by FMC Corporation . It is used by USMC 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. DEVELOPMENT The LVT-7 was first introduced in 1972 as a replacement for the LVT-5 . In 1982, FMC was contracted to conduct the LVT-7 Service Life Extension Program, which converted the LVT-7 vehicles to the improved AAV-7A1 vehicle by adding an improved engine, transmission, and weapons system and improving the overall maintainability of the vehicle. Existing P-7A1s were later upgraded to carry the UGWS (UpGunned Weapons Station), which mounts a .50 cal (12.7 mm) M-2HB Machine Gun and a Mk-19 40 Mm Grenade Launcher . VARIANTS splashes into the Pacific Ocean from the well deck of USS ''Juneau'' before heading to the beach.]] Three types of AAV-7A1s exist;
The P-7A1 is by far the most common type. The P-7A1 has the capacity to carry 25 combat-equipped Marines. AAVP-7A1s are operated by three crewmen; the crew chief, driver, and rear crewman. AAVP-7A1s have also been modified to carry the Mk 154 MCLC, or Mine Clearance Line Charge. The MCLC kit can fire three linear demolition charges to breach a lane through a minefield. MCLCs were used in the 1991 Persian Gulf War . COMBAT HISTORY Twenty U.S.-built LVTP-7s were used by Argentina during the 1982 Invasion Of The Falkland Islands . It was heavily used in the Conflict In Iraq and was provided with an antitank armor add-on kit by Rafael , making it one of the safest Armored Personal Carrier s in the Iraqi theatre. AAV-7A1s were also used extensively in the Persian Gulf War and in Operation Restore Hope . The AAV is still used by the United States Marine Corps , although it is slated to be replaced with the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle starting in 2008 OPERATORS
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