The US State Department has approved a $30.6-million foreign military sale of Assault Amphibious Vehicles (AAVs) to Italy.
The potential deal covers three platforms in the AAVC-7A1 command variant and four vehicles built with the AAVR-7A1 recovery configuration.
It also stipulated related radar-scattering camouflage netting kits, engineering equipment, technical manuals, and logistics support.
According to Washington, the proposed sale will improve Italy’s expeditionary capability to address threats in Europe.
The US government assured that the package, to be drawn from the US Marine Corps’ inventory, will have no consequences on US defense readiness.
Legacy Amphibious Tractor
The AAV is a fully-tracked landing vehicle developed by BAE Systems in the 1970s that was retired in 2025.
It is offered in three variants, each operated by a three-man crew, and offers capacity for more than 20 troops.
The platform can be armed with a 40-millimeter automatic grenade launcher and a 12.7-millimeter heavy machine gun.
It is 8 meters (26 feet) in length, protected by 45-millimeter aluminum armor, and equipped with a 400-horsepower Detroit Diesel engine or a 525-horsepower Cummins engine.
The amphibious tractor reaches speeds of up to 72 kilometers (45 miles) per hour on land and about 13 kilometers (8 miles) per hour on water.
It has a range of 480 kilometers (298 miles) on paved or off-road, and travels up to 20 nautical miles (37 kilometers/23 miles) in sea state five when afloat.
