The Marine Corps introduced that it’s proscribing its amphibious assault automobiles (AAVs) from working within the water for the foreseeable future — a significant limitation for a automobile designed to take Marines from ship to shore.
Eight Marines and a Navy corpsman died when an AAV sank a whole lot of ft into the ocean throughout workout routines on July 30, 2020.
A sequence of 4 subsequent investigations by the Marine Corps and the Navy discovered that no single downside induced the AAV to sink that day. As an alternative, a mixture of poor upkeep and coaching, security shortcuts, and mechanical failures led to the deadly mishap that Marine leaders have mentioned was “preventable.”
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The choice to maintain the AAVs out of the water comes two months after the discharge of the final of these stories.
“The Commandant of the Marine Corps has determined the AAV will not function a part of often scheduled deployments or practice within the water throughout navy workout routines; AAVs will solely return to working within the water if wanted for disaster response,” Marine Corps spokesman Maj. James Stenger mentioned in a press release emailed to Army.com on Wednesday.
The AAVs have been in service for the reason that Seventies.
Stenger mentioned that the Corps “stands by the efficacy of the suggestions that got here from the a number of investigations into the AAV mishap” and that “the AAV is a protected and efficient automobile for amphibious operations.”
The automobile is being restricted to land “within the curiosity of the long-term well being of the amphibious automobile applications and future capabilities.” Army.com requested for extra particulars on what this implies however didn’t instantly get a response.
The service emphasised that “76% of [the AAV’s] duties are land-based.”
The information additionally comes amid troubles for the AAV’s substitute — the Amphibious Fight Automobile (ACV).
Stenger’s assertion famous that “ACVs have been briefly suspended from open ocean waterborne operations as we labored to resolve a problem that was recognized with the towing mechanism.”
“We count on that concern to be resolved quickly and for ACVs to return to the water early within the New Yr.”
The Marines mentioned that they “reserve the potential to reverse this choice ought to the necessity come up.”
— Konstantin Toropin will be reached at konstantin.toropin@navy.com. Comply with him on Twitter @ktoropin.
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