The LAV-25 (Light Armored Vehicle) - Variants

Choose from:

• LAV-25
• LAV-AT 
• LAV-C2
• LAV-M
• LAV-R
• LAV-Log

The LAV-25 (Light Armored Vehicle) is an eight-wheeled amphibious armored reconnaissance vehicle built by General Dynamics Land Systems and used by the United States Marine Corps and the United States Army.

During the 1980s, the U.S. Marine Corps began looking for a light armored vehicle to give their divisions greater mobility. They chose the Light Armored Vehicle design from GM Defense. It entered service with the Marines in 1983. The U.S. Army was interested in these vehicles at the time, but did not order any—although they did later with the introduction of the Stryker family of vehicles. The Army did, however, borrow at least a dozen LAV-25s for use by the 82nd Airborne Division, 3-73rd Armor for a Scout Platoon during the Gulf War. These LAV-25s were later returned to the Marine Corps after the conflict. The USMC ordered 758 vehicles of all variants. LAVs first saw combat during the Invasion of Panama in 1989, and continued service in the Gulf War, Iraq War, and the War in Afghanistan.

The table of organization and equipment for an USMC light-armored reconnaissance battalion includes 56 LAV-25s, 16 LAV-ATs, 12 LAV-Ls, 8 LAV-Ms, 4 LAV-Rs, 4 LAV-C2s, and an unknown number of LAV-MEWSS vehicles.

The LAV platform is planned to remain in service with the Marine Corps until 2035.[5] The Marines aim to have prototypes for the LAV's replacement, dubbed the Armored Reconnaissance Vehicle (ARV), by 2023. The ARV is planned to be a networked family of wheeled vehicles capable of performing various mission sets, with 500 to be procured.