The United States has approved a $30.6 million Foreign Military Sale to Italy for seven retired Assault Amphibious Vehicles drawn from former U.S. Marine Corps inventories. The procurement purposefully excludes troop-carrying variants to systematically focus on specialized command-and-control and maintenance architecture shortfalls within the Italian naval force structure. This targeted acquisition follows the complete retirement of the tracked vehicle platform from active American service as the U.S. Marine Corps transitions to its new wheeled fleet.
The $30.6 million procurement package consists of three AAVC-7A1 mobile command posts and four AAVR-7A1 heavy recovery vehicles configured to the advanced RAM/RS modernization standard. While Italy's baseline amphibious lift capacity remains fixed at 609 personnel, the transaction expands the specialized fleet command architecture by 100 percent and elevates recovery assets by 200 percent.
