U.S. Marines Advanced Reconnaissance Vehicle Is Coming

The U.S. Marine Corps badly needs a replacement for its rapidly-aging Light Armored Vehicle. Could this new vehicle be the solution? The Marine Corps is on the hunt for a reconnaissance vehicle that would be able to replace their LAV-25, the Light Armored Vehicle that originally entered service with the Marine Corps in the early 1980s. The LAV has a lot to offer—it is amphibious, sports a 25-millimeter Bushmaster autocannon, and can transport six fully-equipped Marines in addition to three crew members. Still, the vehicle is quickly approaching forty years old, and is in some ways a throwback to Cold War-era planning. The LAV is relatively lightly armored, and while it can offer protection from Russian armor-piercing rounds as well as a variety of small-arms fire, it is decidedly vulnerable to larger caliber munitions. Since the LAV’s Cold War introduction it has been up-armored, though at a steep cost: its amphibious capabilities. To the Marine Corps—traditionally amphibious by nature — thi