Canada Up-Armoring its LAV-IIIs

February 13/17: Canada’s Light Armored Vehicle III (LAV III) Upgrade Program will see General Dynamics Land Systems upgrade 141 Light Armored Vehicles external link. Valued at $308 million, the upgrades will bring the vehicles up to the latest LAV 6.0 standard, improving the vehicles’ performance and survivability while reducing long-term maintenance costs. Based on the Swiss MOWAG Piranha III external link, the LAV III is the third generation of light armored vehicles used by Canada’s army.

For more on this and other stories, please consider purchasing a membership.
If you are already a subscriber, login to your account.
LAV-III, FOB Robinson(click to view full) Original Post date: December 3, 2008 The Government of Canada recently awarded “EODC Engineering, Developing and Licencing Inc.” of Ottawa, Canada C$ 81.5 million (about $65.5 million ) worth of contracts to provide for add-on-armour kits, modules and spares for its LAV III wheeled armored personnel carriers. LAV-III vehicles […]
LAV-III Canadian FOB Robinson Afghanistan

LAV-III, FOB Robinson
(click to view full)

Original Post date: December 3, 2008
The Government of Canada recently awarded “EODC Engineering, Developing and Licencing Inc.” of Ottawa, Canada C$ 81.5 million (about $65.5 million ) worth of contracts to provide for add-on-armour kits, modules and spares for its LAV III wheeled armored personnel carriers. LAV-III vehicles are known as Piranha-III in Europe, and are the base platform for the USA’s Stryker family of vehicles. Canadian LAV-IIIs have seen extensive use on the front lines of Afghanistan, where they have both achieved important successes and demonstrated key limitations.

The first, C$ 68 million contract, includes kits, modules, and spares for LAV III supplemental armor, as well as the repair and overhaul of their current modules and kits. An additional contract estimated at C$ 13.5 million was also awarded to EODC to provide “an Improvised Explosive Device Protection Kit.” The government release adds that EODC is the sole-source supplier because it owns the intellectual property rights. As the CASR think tank points out, Engineering Office Deisenroth Canada (EODC) is a subsidiary of Germany’s IBD Deisenroth; and IBD Deisenroth’s site makes it clear that Canadian LAVs have already started to use AMAP-IED armor.

AMAP-IED

AMAP-IED armor
(click to view full)

Deisenroth makes the MEXAS armoring that has outfitted Canadian LAVs and Leopard 1A5 tanks. Its more advanced AMAP line offers greater protection against medium-caliber small arms fire, fragmentation, and rockets. There’s also a dedicated AMAP-IED product, whose combination of materials and spacings provides good side protection against a range of threats that include land mine blasts and even EFP(explosively formed projectile) side-attacks. Under-belly armor is also part of the kit and offers additional land mine protection, though the LAV-III’s base design is not optimized against this threat in the same way as the v-hulled MRAPs. Government of Canada release | CASR.

Note that even perfect armor may not solve the problem completely. AMAP-IED may be an important step forward in general protection, and offers insurance against a casualty spike if EFP mines become more prevalent in theater. Past casualty reports, however, indicate that many of the LAV-III’s mine-related casualties were blast pressure injuries to soldiers who are riding with part of body outside a vehicle hatch. This is the result of a tradeoff between the need for all-around awareness, and the benefits of having locals see your faces and presence; versus the need for protection.

Update

February 13/17: Canada’s Light Armored Vehicle III (LAV III) Upgrade Program will see General Dynamics Land Systems upgrade 141 Light Armored Vehicles. Valued at $308 million, the upgrades will bring the vehicles up to the latest LAV 6.0 standard, improving the vehicles’ performance and survivability while reducing long-term maintenance costs. Based on the Swiss MOWAG Piranha III, the LAV III is the third generation of light armored vehicles used by Canada’s army.

One Source: Hundreds of programs; Thousands of links, photos, and analyses

DII brings a complete collection of articles with original reporting and research, and expert analyses of events to your desktop – no need for multiple modules, or complex subscriptions. All supporting documents, links, & appendices accompany each article.

Benefits

  • Save time
  • Eliminate your blind spots
  • Get the big picture, quickly
  • Keep up with the important facts
  • Stay on top of your projects or your competitors

Features

  • Coverage of procurement and doctrine issues
  • Timeline of past and future program events
  • Comprehensive links to other useful resources