The Marine Corps is looking for companies capable of designing and building variants of its Amphibious Combat Vehicle so it can perform missions such as carrying a 30mm cannon into battle.

The Corps selected BAE Systems in June to build the ACV, which will eventually replace service's fleet of outdated amphibious assault vehicles.

The office of Program Manager, Advanced Amphibious Assault is now trying to identify interested vendors capable of developing three mission-role variants, or MRVs -- ACV-Command, or ACV-C; ACV-Recovery/Maintenance, or ACV-R; and ACV-30mm Medium Caliber Cannon, or ACV-30, according to a Jan. 28 request for information posted on FedBizOpps.gov.

The Marine Corps is looking for contractors capable of designing, manufacturing and delivering up to 29 ACV-Cs, 39 ACV-Rs and 150 ACV-30s that maintain commonality with the existing ACV-Personnel, or ACV-P, vehicle to the maximum extent possible, the RFI states.

"The drivetrain, powertrain, water propulsion, hull underbody, armor system, suspension system, steering system, braking system, driver's station, and vehicle commander's station are all expected to be common with the ACV-P," the solicitation states.

Interested contractors have until Feb. 8 to respond.

"Vendors possessing the requisite skills, resources, and capabilities necessary to perform the stated requirements are invited to respond to this RFI via a submission of an executive summary ... describing product summary, complete technical characteristics, and training and spare parts support capability," the RFI states.

The Marine Corps is looking for contractors with experience in the design and production of ground tactical vehicle systems, including production operations, engineering change proposals and production quality management, it adds.

The eight-wheeled ACV 1.1 has improved survivability and under-body blast protection that's comparable to the Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle, Marine officials said.

BAE will eventually build an upgraded ACV 1.2 that the Corps hopes to field to as a replacement for its fleet of 870 amphibious assault vehicles.

I Marine Expeditionary Force is scheduled to be the first to receive the new ACV when fielding starts in the fourth quarter of 2020. Full operational capability is scheduled for 2023, Marine officials said.

-- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com.