History
In July 2009, the Canadian Department of National Defence announced that $5 billion would be spent to enhance, replace and repair the Army's armoured vehicles. Part of the spending would be used to replace and repair damaged LAV III's due to wear and tear from operations in Afghanistan. As many as one third of the Army's light armoured vehicles were out of service. [5] The LAV III's would be upgraded with improved protection and automotive components. [6]
The Canadian Armed Forces lost over 34 vehicles and 359 were damaged during the mission in Afghanistan. The Canadian Army lost 13 LAVs and more than 159 were damaged by roadside bombs or enemy fire. [7] Of the $5 billion announced, approximately 20% of it was intended to be used to upgrade LAV III models. The upgrade extended the LAV III life span to 2035. The remaining $4 billion was to be spent on a "new family of land combat vehicles". [8]
The Department of National Defence considered the purchase of a Close Combat Vehicle, meant to accompany the Leopard 2 and to support the LAV III in combat. The CV90, the Puma (IFV) and the Véhicule blindé de combat d'infanterie were the most likely candidates for the role. A contract of 108 with an option for up to 30 more was considered. [9] [10] [11] The success of the upgrade program and budget pressures led to the cancellation of the Close Combat Vehicle replacement program. [12]
In October 2011, the Canadian government announced a $1.1 billion contract to General Dynamics Land Systems to upgrade 550 LAV III combat vehicles. The government said the upgrade was needed to improve protection against mines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs), which have been the cause of a number of Canadian deaths in Afghanistan. The improvements will also extend the service of the vehicles up to 2035 and will boost troop mobility. [13] [14] [15]
The upgrades include a new and more powerful engine, increased armour protection, and improved steering and brake systems. The turret hatches on the LAV III would be made larger and fire control, thermal, day and low-light sights, and data displays would be improved. The weight of the vehicle would increase from 38,000 pounds (17,000 kg) to 55,000 pounds (25,000 kg). [16] [17]
In September 2012, the original contract valued at $1.064 billion to upgrade the 550 LAV III variants (infantry section carrier, command post, observation post and engineer vehicle) to the LAV 6 configuration was modified. The modification added $151 million to upgrade an additional 66 LAV III's to the LAV 6 with a LAV Reconnaissance and Surveillance System (LRSS) fitted. [18]
In February 2017, GDLS – Canada was awarded a $404 million order to work on 141 LAV Operational Requirement Integration Task (LORIT) vehicles. This contract will upgrade the remaining LAV III fleet in the Canadian Army to the LAV 6 configuration. This brings the Canadian Army's LAV III Upgrade (LAVUP) program to a total cost of $1.8 billion. [19]
Final completion and delivery of the Canadian Army's LAV III Upgrade (LAVUP) to upgrade the LAV III to the LAV 6 was expected to be completed by December 2019. [20]
Exports
In early 2014 the Conservative government under Stephen Harper prepared the sale of several hundred LAV 6 vehicles to Saudi Arabia for an estimated CAD $10 billion. This was one of the largest manufacturing export deals in modern Canadian history, though it was heavily criticized due to Saudi Arabia's record on human rights abuses and involving in the Yemeni Civil War. [21] The deal, which grew to CAD $15 billion and included 928 LAV 6 vehicles, was ultimately signed in late 2014. [22] The Liberal government under Justin Trudeau finally approved the export license for the vehicles after coming to power in 2015, despite widespread calls from the NDP and human rights groups to cancel the deal. Even after footage appearing online of Canadian LAV vehicles being deployed against the Shiite population in Qatif, the House of Commons committee report found "no conclusive evidence that Canadian-made vehicles were used in human rights violations" according to Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland. [23] The government also cited costly penalties for breaking the contract as a reason to honor the export commitments. [24] In 2018, Saudi Arabia threatened to reduce its order for LAV 6 vehicles from 928 to only 742 vehicles, after a diplomatic row with the Trudeau government following criticism of the former's human rights abuses, although some analysts believed this threat had more to do with the kingdom's economic difficulties. [25]
Following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Canadian Government announced that it would be diverting 39 LAV 6 ACSVs to the Ukrainian Armed Forces as military aid from the order of 360 vehicles it had previously made for the Canadian Forces. [26] Canadian officials stated that the vehicles along with spare parts would be delivered during the summer of 2022 and that the Forces would still receive a total order of 360 vehicles in addition to the 39 vehicles given to Ukraine. [27] [28]
Active Combat
In early January 2023 the first ACSVs were spotted near the frontlines in Ukraine, after having begun to arrive since early October 2022, with the vehicles previously having been in rear-area units for training on the vehicles. [29] Ukrainian Media reporting on the vehicles also dubbed the vehicles with a new nickname, the “Super Bison” due to the lineage the ACSV series shares with the older LAV 2 Bison series which filled an almost identical role. [29] As of April 2024, only 1 Super Bison has been confirmed by open source intelligence as destroyed in combat. [30]
ACSV
This article is about the new variant of the LAV 6. Not to be confused with the German light tracked vehicle
PMMC G5.
In August 2019, the Government of Canada announced its intention to purchase up to 360 Armoured Combat Support Vehicles (ACSVs), and that negotiations with GDLS - Canada had entered the final stages. Based heavily on the LAV 6 platform, the ACSVs will replace the Bison LAV and the M113 armoured personnel carrier (M113A3 & MTVL) fleets of the Canadian Armed Forces. [33]
In September 2019, Public Services and Procurement Canada on behalf of the Department of National Defence awarded GDLS - Canada a CAD$2 billion contract for 360 ACSVs, initial spare parts, manuals, training, and various vehicle add-on kits. The various add-on kits incorporated in the procurement include: add-on armour, mine blast and enhanced crew protection, laser warning systems, side protection and remote weapons station kits. The Department of National Defence stated that by procuring similar combat support vehicles in the CAF fleet offers the advantages of reduced training and sustainment costs, in addition to the availability of standard spare parts to fix vehicles quickly during critical operations. [34]
The vehicles are expected to support a wide range of operations, including domestic disaster relief and overseas peacekeeping missions. The ACSV will be available in eight variants to provide services such as: ambulances, vehicle recovery, engineering, mobile repair, electronic warfare, troop-carrying, and mobile command posts. [34] Delivery of the first set of vehicles is expected in late 2020, with the last vehicles being delivered in 2025. [33]
In May 2020, Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace announced that they had signed a contract worth NOK500 Million (CAD$73.6 Million) with GDLS - Canada for delivery of the newest generation of Protector Remote Weapons Stations (or RWS) to the Canadian Army. The Protector RWS is to be equipped on Canada's fleet of ACSVs. [35] It was subsequently announced on June 1, 2020, that delivery of the first ACSVs was still on schedule for late 2020 and would not be delayed in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic. [36]
