Further delays to Canadian LAV recce vehicle as first units delivered

The first five LAV 6.0 Reconnaissance vehicles equipped with the Light Armoured Reconnaissance Surveillance System are being delivered in August. (Elbit Systems)

Upgraded Light Armoured Vehicle (LAV) 6.0 Reconnaissance vehicles are being delivered to the Canadian Army in August to begin testing, but new delays have pushed the programme to the right, a government official told Janes .

The Light Armoured Vehicle Reconnaissance Surveillance System (LRSS) project is designed to replace the Canadian Army's ageing 141 Coyote reconnaissance vehicles with new systems fitted to the 66 LAV 6.0 platform, known as LAV 6.0 Reconnaissance.

The first five LAV 6.0 Reconnaissance vehicles equipped with the LRSS are arriving at Canadian Forces Base Valcartier, Quebec, to begin Reliability, Availability, Maintainability, and Durability (RAMD) testing. This will last through to late 2023. Additional vehicles will be transported to other army bases through to the end of 2024, a spokesperson from the Canadian Department of National Defence (DND) told Janes .

“Initial Operational Capability (IOC) is planned for fall 2024 [September–November], and Final Operational Capability (FOC) is planned [for] summer 2025 [June–August],” the spokesperson said. This represents a further delay in the project.

General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada (GDLS-C) is contracted to deliver 621 upgraded LAV III vehicles under the LAV III Upgrade (LAVUP) programme. In 2017 GDLS-C contracted DRS Technologies to provide the LRSS for 66 Reconnaissance variants.

The initial schedule for the LRSS project was for a 2020 IOC, but a DRS subcontractor building the mast section of the LRSS went bankrupt, so the IOC was pushed back to December 2021 with an FOC in February 2023.

New delays in the project are “primarily” because of issues with software design and testing, the DND spokesperson told Janes