Prof. İsmail DEMİR made a statement on his Twitter account and announced that MAV's self-righting test has successfully been completed, "The self-righting test is an important stage in the engineering verification activities of the Marine Assault Vehicle (MAV), which was specially developed to meet the needs of the TNFC Amphibious Marine Brigade. In the case of capsizing at sea in harsh weather conditions, MAV can self-right itself without using an additional system and injuring the crew inside. With this test, verification activities have been completed, and qualification tests are now being started." The purpose of these tests is to confirm the balance performance of the vehicle in deep water. MAV is designed to ensure that marines reach the shore in the shortest time possible while minimizing their exposure to threats while at sea.

FNSS initiated the development of the MAV on March 2017, as part of the Zırhlı Amfibi Hücum Araçları (ZAHA) project carried out by the Presidency of Defence Industries to meet the amphibious armored vehicle requirements of Turkish Naval Forces Command with a primary role to support the combat capabilities of marine forces. Under the agreement, FNSS will deliver a total of 27 vehicles to the Turkish Naval Forces Command, including 23 personnel carriers, two command & control (C2) vehicles, and two recovery vehicles. FNSS evaluated the prototype design and completed the Critical Design Review (CDR) phase in 2019 with the prototype vehicle which was exhibited by FNSS at IDEF. The qualification tests will start at the end of 2020, and the process is expected to continue until the end of 2021. The serial production will be accomplished by the end of 2021 or at the beginning of 2022.

The Marine Assault Vehicle features a water-resistant hull which demonstrates superior amphibious characteristics. The completely sealed unique hull design offers the self-righting capability and improves mobility in water. It does not utilize a double or V-hull as it will drastically affect the performance of the vehicle at sea. The MAV weighs 30 metric tons and is equipped with a 600hp front-mounted diesel engine power pack. The engine has a fully automatic transmission system. The vehicle is propelled by two powerful rear-mounted water jets in amphibious mode, which can handle up to sea-state 4. The maximum amphibious speed of the vehicle is 7 knots, while the maximum road speed is 70 km/h.

The MAV is designed to operate with Turkey's Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD) ship that is now in production. The vehicle has a maximum ship-to-shore swim distance of 15 nautical miles and can be launched from Landing Helicopter Docks (LHD) to enable the safe landing of marine units during the amphibious assault phase of an operation. The vehicle covers the distance between the vessel and shore in the shortest time possible, allowing marine units to land under armor protection with minimum delay. The vehicle can also serve as an armored combat vehicle after reaching the shore and effectively operate alongside with other armored vehicles.

FNSS MAV is manned by a crew of three members including a commander, a driver, and a gunner. The driver sits in the front and the commander is positioned behind the driver. The gunner’s compartment is located in the middle of the vehicle and offers the gunner a clear view of the surroundings to track down enemy movements. The MAV can carry up to 21 (18 dismounted infantry + 3 crewmembers) troops as well as cargo in a large compartment at the rear of the vehicle. The vehicle is also fitted with a hydraulic ramp at the back.

The MAV is equipped with a remote-controlled turret carrying a 12.7 mm M2 heavy barrel machine gun and a 40 mm automatic grenade launcher (AGL). Designed and developed by FNSS, the turret features a thermal sighting system, which allows day and night operations. Compared to similar examples, MAV is expected to be superior in both ballistic and mine/blast protection. The vehicle is built from 5000 series military-grade aluminum armor, which is alloyed with magnesium. The aluminum is used to form the structure of the hull and offers protection against ballistic threats and explosions. MAV is capable of maneuvering on a 60% vertical and 40% horizontal gradient, climbing 90 cm-high obstacles, and crossing 200 cm-wide trenches. The 8.3-meter-long and 3.3-meter-wide vehicle features a reinforced hull bottom armor and the thickness of the bottom plate is adjusted to maximize energy absorption. The protection level of the MAV can be further improved with add-on applique armor plates. The vehicle is also fitted with a coaxially mounted smoke grenade launcher, automatic fire extinguishing system, and a dedicated CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radioactive, and Nuclear) protection system.