Amphibious Combat Vehicle

Kongsberg MCT-30 first remotely operated 30 mm turret to be fielded in US

Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace will design and manufacture the remote Medium Caliber Turret (MCT) for the United States Marine Corps’ Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV) -30 program.

The ACV is the Marine Corps’ next-generation vehicle designed to move Marines from ship to shore. It will replace the Amphibious Assault Vehicle, and act as the primary means of tactical mobility for the Marine infantry battalion at sea and ashore.

The ACV will possess ground mobility and speed similar to the M1A1 tank during sustained operations ashore and have the capability to provide organic, direct fire support to dismounted infantry in the attack. The ACV will support expeditionary mobility capability and capacity with balanced levels of performance, protection and payload. 

Kongsberg will deliver up to 150 MCTs in a phased program as part of the contract. Test article delivery will commence in early 2021, followed by production phases.

The Kongsberg MCT-30 is the first remotely operated 30 mm turret to be qualified and fielded in the United States. Kongsberg says the system provides highly accurate firepower for wheeled or tracked combat vehicles. It is remotely controlled and operated from a protected position inside the vehicle compartment for optimised crew safety.

The MCT-30 leverages a link-less medium calibre cannon providing lethality, extremely high reliability and multi-user functions to the Marine Corps ACV and other platforms. “The ACV-30 with Kongsberg’s MCT-30 turret signifies a powerful lethality capability for the Marine Corps, representative of a new era in US  amphibious operations,” said Pål E Bratlie, Executive Vice President Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace.

The US Army, in 2015, chose Kongsberg’s MCT-30 to increase the lethality of the Stryker Brigade in Europe. The system has been fielded and operated with the Army as part of the European Deterrence Initiative since 2018. It is the primary armament and fire control system for the Infantry Carrier Vehicle – Dragoon (ICV-D) Strykers. All MCT-30s, and any remote weapon stations, bound for US customers are manufactured in the Kongsberg Johnstown, Penn. facility leveraging a US supply base located in over 30 states.