Canadian Army set to acquire 360 combat support LAVs

The Canadian military and General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada (GDLS-C) are finalising a deal valued at up to CAD3 billion (USD2 billion) for the purchase of 360 combat support Light Armoured Vehicles (LAVs).

Harjit Sajjan, the Minister of National Defence, recently announced the pending LAV deal and said the government will also provide GDLS-C with a “repayable loan” worth up to CAD650 million.

The Canadian Army is set to receive 360 LAVs under a pending new deal. Pictured is the LAV 6.0 Combat Support – Ambulance variant. (General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada)

“The LAV is the backbone of the army’s combat fleet, and supports our women and men in uniform on a range of operations from domestic disaster relief such as Operation LENTUS to overseas peace support missions,” Sajjan said in the statement.

According to plan, the army will use eight variants of the combat support vehicles for a variety of tasks including ambulance services, vehicle recovery, engineering, mobile repair, electronic warfare, troop carrying, and command posts. The LAV 6.0 Combat Support – Ambulance variant, for example, weighs 28,636 kg and can reach speeds of up to 100 km per hour with a range of 600 km.

“I am pleased to be moving forward with the strengthening of our fleet of armoured combat support vehicles as committed to in our defence policy, ‘Strong, Secure, Engaged’, while at the same time supporting Canadian jobs and innovation through our partnership with GDLS-C,” Sajjan added.