The Marines released a dramatic photo Friday of an AAV7 Amphibious Assault Vehicle hitting the water during training at Camp Pendleton earlier this week.
The vehicles, informally known as “amtracks,” can carry a team of 21 Marines up to 20 nautical miles from Navy ships offshore to land on a beach during an assault.
The amtrack in the photo was being operated by instructors who were teaching basic operation and repair during training on Wednesday.
The 30-ton vehicles are armed with grenade launchers and 50-caliber machine guns. They have been in use since the early 1970s with multiple upgrades over the years.
