LAV III

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Light Armoured Vehicle III
C9A2 5.56 mm or C6 7.62 mm machine gun
(pintle mount)
EngineCaterpillar 3126 diesel
260 kW (350 hp)
SuspensionHydropneumatic
Operational
range
450 km (280 mi)
Maximum speed 100 km/h (62 mph)

The LAV III is the third generation of the

U.S. Army and other operators. The Canadian Army is upgrading its LAV IIIs to the LAV 6
standard. Early in its development history it was referred to as the 'Kodiak', but the name was never officially adopted.

Development

By July 1991, the

Bison armoured personnel carrier. The project was, however, deemed unaffordable and cancelled by March 1992.[4]

By 1994, after the

Coyote Reconnaissance Vehicle
to replace the Lynx.

General Motors Diesel proposed an upgraded variant of their 8×8 platform incorporating the turret and weapon system of the Coyote. In August 1995, it was announced that GM Diesel (later renamed GM Defense, and subsequently purchased by General Dynamics Land Systems of London, Ontario) had been awarded the contract to produce the LAV III which would replace the Grizzly and a large portion of the M113 armoured personnel carriers.[4]

Design

Armament

A M242 Bushmaster chain gun is fitted on a LAV III's gun turret, with a machine gun placed atop the turret.

The LAV III is fitted with a two-man turret, armed with the

improvised explosive devices and anti-tank mine threats on the battlefield.[6]

Mobility

The LAV III is powered by a Caterpillar 3126 diesel engine developing 350 horsepower (260 kW) and can reach speeds above 100 kilometres per hour.[5] The vehicle is fitted with 8x8 drive and also equipped with a central tire inflation system, which allows it to adjust to different terrain, including off-road.[7][8] The LAV III is fitted with a modern anti-locking brake system (ABS). Unlike earlier versions of the LAV, the LAV III does not have amphibious capabilities.

A LAV III performing mounted patrols makes its way through an unpaved road in Bamyan Province.

The LAV III faces the same concerns that most other wheeled military vehicles face. Like all wheeled armoured vehicles, the LAV III's ground pressure is inherently higher than a tracked vehicle with a comparable weight. This is because tires will have less surface area in contact with the ground when compared to a tracked vehicle. Higher ground pressure results in an increased likelihood of sinking into soft terrain such as mud, snow and sand, leading to the vehicle becoming stuck. The lower ground pressure and improved traction offered by tracked vehicles also gives them an advantage over vehicles like the LAV III when it comes to managing slopes, trenches, and other obstacles.

The LAV III can somewhat compensate for these effects by deflating its tires slightly, meaning that the surface area in contact with the ground increases, and the ground pressure is slightly lowered.

However, wheels offer several advantages over tracked vehicles, including lower maintenance for both the vehicle and road infrastructure, quieter movement for improved stealth, greater speed over good terrain, and higher ground clearance. Wheeled vehicle crews are also more likely to survive mine or IED attacks than the crew of a similarly armoured tracked vehicle.

The LAV III's turret gives the vehicle a higher centre of gravity than the vehicle was initially designed for. This has led to concerns that the vehicle is more likely to roll over on uneven terrain.

While there have been several recorded rollovers (about 16),[9] the most common cause was found to be unstable terrain, specifically road shoulders unexpectedly giving away beneath the vehicle.[10] The weight balance of the LAV III is taken into consideration during driver training, largely mitigating the chances of a rollover.

Protection

The basic armour of the LAV III, covering the Standardization Agreement

cage armour, which provides protection against shaped charges. The LAV III is fitted with a nuclear, biological, chemical (NBC) filtration system accompanied with a GID-3 chemical detector and AN/VDR-2 radiation detector systems.[16] The LAV III was designed to produce a very low and very compact structure to minimize radar and IR-signatures. The LAV III also uses heat-absorbing filters to provide temporary protection against thermal imaging (TIS), image intensifiers and infrared cameras (IR). General Dynamics is in the process of integrating the LAV III with an active protection system[17] based on the Israeli Trophy system.[18]

LAV III sights and sensors atop its turret.

The majority of Canadian casualties in Afghanistan have occurred during a patrol aboard a LAV III.[19] This can be explained by the fact that the LAV III is the most commonly used Canadian armoured personnel carrier in theatre, and simply represents a normal association between use and likelihood to encounter a mine or improvised explosive device.[20] The LAV III offers comparable or better protection than most other infantry carriers used in Afghanistan. In an effort to improve protection as a result of experiences in Afghanistan, future LAV III upgrades will likely include improved mine and IED protection.[21]

Sights

The LAV III is equipped with a daytime optical

LCD monitor directly connected to the vehicle's external cameras, providing real-time images of the battlefield for the passengers.[5]

Service history

The LAV III and related versions have been used in the following:

New Zealand

A New Zealand LAV III deployed after the 2011 Christchurch earthquake.

In May 2009, two NZLAVs were deployed to support police during the

NZSAS operations in Afghanistan and they were up-armoured.[22]
In 2011, these three LAVs were moved to Bamyan to support the provincial reconstruction team there as they were no longer needed in Kabul due to reduced SAS numbers. Five additional LAVs were also flown to Bamyan. One was later damaged by a roadside bomb. All these LAVs were returned to New Zealand by November 2013.

In 2011, after the Christchurch earthquake, LAVs from Burnham Camp were deployed to assist police with securing the inner city at night.

In March 2016, two LAVs were deployed to assist with lifting a siege near Kawerau in the Bay of Plenty after four policemen were shot at and severely injured.[23]

Originally 105 NZLAVs, including 95 Infantry Mobility Vehicle (IMV), 7 Light Obstacle Blade Vehicle (LOB) and 3 Recovery Vehicle (LAV-R).

In 2003 the New Zealand armed forces purchased 105

LAV
(Light Armored Vehicle) from Canada, of which 102 were standard vehicles (LOB is a standard NZLAV with a bulldozer blade attached) and 3 were redesigned for recovery.

In 2010 the government said it would look at the possibility of selling 35 LAVs, around a third of the fleet, as being surplus to requirements.[24] In 2012, 20 NZLAVs were made available to be sold, and in 2019 this amount was raised to 30.[25]

On 20 April 2022, New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) announced that they had sold 22 NZLAVs to Chilean Navy. After the sale to Chile, NZDF still had 8 NZLAVs in their inventory for sale. One NZLAV has been written off after being damaged in Afghanistan and one NZLAV is being used in Canada (source country for NZLAV) as a test vehicle. 73 NZLAVs remain in service with NZDF as of April 2022.[25]

Variants

A LAV III variant with a 120mm mortar turret during a demonstration for the U.S. Army's Interim Armored Vehicle program.

LAV 6

Main article: LAV 6
A Canadian Army LAV 6

In October 2011, GDLS-Canada was awarded a contract to upgrade 409 of the service's 651 LAV III APCs to the LAV 6 standard. Four variants were ordered: an infantry section carrier, a command post, an observation post and an engineer vehicle.[27] The upgrade was expected to extend the service life of the vehicle to 2035.[28] In February 2017, the service awarded GDLS-Canada a $404 million contract to upgrade 141 more LAV IIIs.[29] In August 2019, GDLS-Canada received a four-year, $3 billion deal to build 360 armoured combat support vehicle variants. The first of these rolled off the assembly line in May 2021.[28]

Operators

A map with LAV III operators marked in blue.
  • Canadian Army – 651[1][5]
  • 2017 February 10, Canadian defence minister Harjit Sajjan announced a CAD404 million (USD309 million) investment to upgrade the chassis of an additional 141 light armoured vehicles (LAVs). The upgrade will increase the LAVs' mobility, protection, and information management systems.[30][31]
A New Zealand Army LAV III on display.
  • U.S. Army – The US army operates LAV III derived Stryker, ordered from General Dynamics Land Systems Canada in 2000, with delivery of 4,466 completing in 2014.

Preserved examples

A retired LAV III at a Canadian war memorial in Waterloo, Ontario.

Related vehicles

References

  1. ^ a b c d "LAV III/NZLAV". Deagel.com. Archived from the original on May 4, 2009. Retrieved September 22, 2009.
  2. ^ a b "LAV III Kodiak Armoured Personnel Carrier". Military-Today.com. Archived from the original on March 19, 2009. Retrieved July 27, 2009.
  3. ^ Maas, Frank (Spring 2011). "The Success of the Light Armoured Vehicle" (PDF). Canadian Military History. Vol. 20, no. 2. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 8, 2020. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
  4. ^ a b Stone, Major J. Craig (Summer 2001). "An Examination of the Armoured Personnel Carrier Replacement Project" (PDF). Canadian Military Journal. pp. 59–65. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 17, 2011.
  5. ^ a b c d "Canadian Army > LAV III – LIGHT ARMOURED VEHICLE". Department of National Defence (Canada). Archived from the original on October 12, 2010. Retrieved July 22, 2009.
  6. ^ "New LAV variant to provide better protection". DND. Archived from the original on July 22, 2012. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
  7. ^ "Stryker Light Armored Vehicle III (LAV III) > LAV III – LIGHT ARMOURED VEHICLE". Tony Rogers. Archived from the original on January 12, 2017. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
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  9. ^ "Light armoured vehicle rollovers led to more than 50 casualties". Archived from the original on June 3, 2014.
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  15. ^ "Canada develops supplemental armour kits for its LAV III vehicles". defpro.com. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved July 27, 2009.
  16. ^ "To Fix and Strike The LAV III in Mobile Defence" (PDF) (Press release). Department of National Defence (Canada). July 8, 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 5, 2012. Retrieved July 9, 2011.
  17. ^ General Dynamics Developing LAV III with Fully Integrated Active Protection System Archived March 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine – Deagel.com, May 29, 2013
  18. ^ US-Israeli Team To Demo APS for Canada – Defensenews.com, October 15, 2013.
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  22. ^ Gower, Patrick (November 14, 2009). "Army vehicles on Afghanistan mission". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on October 21, 2012. Retrieved November 1, 2011.
  23. ^ "Bay of Plenty police shooting: How events unfolded". Stuff. March 9, 2016. Archived from the original on June 11, 2016. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  24. ^ "Govt to sell 35 army LAVs". May 24, 2010.
  25. ^ a b "Twenty two Light Armoured Vehicles sold to Chilean Navy". New Zealand Defence Force (Press release). April 20, 2022. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
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  28. ^ a b De Bono, Norman (May 3, 2021). "London workers praised as military vehicles in $3B order start rolling off line". The London Free Press. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
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  32. ^ Higuera, José (April 22, 2022). "Chile buys light armored vehicles from New Zealand in $20M deal". Defense News.
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  34. ^ Army of Colombia has selected the LAV III 8x8 armoured vehicle for its mechanized infantry units Archived October 19, 2016, at the Wayback Machine – Armyrecognition.com, December 29, 2012
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  46. ^ "Rivière-à-Claude inaugure son parc de la paix en présence de dignitaires et de vétérans très émus" [Rivière-à-Claude inaugurates its peace park in the presence of very moved dignitaries and veterans]. L'Avantage gaspésien (in French). August 19, 2019.
  47. ^ "First LAV III Monument Unveiled in Oromocto, New Brunswick" (Press release). June 23, 2016 – via Cision.
  48. ^ "First LAV III Monument Unveiled in Oromocto, New Brunswick" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on April 21, 2022.
  49. ^ "Canada Company LAV III Monument". Veterans Affairs Canada. June 2021.

External links

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