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57-610: The M1134 Stryker ATGM vehicle is part of a family of eight-wheeled armored fighting vehicles derived from the Canadian LAV III . Stryker vehicles are produced by General Dynamics Land Systems for the United States Army. The ATGM vehicle provides an anti-armor overwatch capability that allows the Stryker brigade combat team (SBCT) to concentrate on the use of M1126 infantry carrier vehicles to deploy soldiers in

114-433: A laser-warning receiver , and mounts a total of eight grenade launchers in two clusters capable of firing smoke and fragmentation grenades. One of the machine guns is mounted coaxial to the main gun while the other is pintle-mounted in front of the crew commander's hatch. The main gun is equipped with dual ammunition feeds that allow for separate weapons effects, selectable by the gunner/crew commander. The standard load

171-531: A Stryker Brigade Combat Team is equipped with three platoons of Mobile Gun System Strykers and three platoons of ATGM Strykers in its weapons troop. LAV III The LAV III is the third generation of the Light Armoured Vehicle (LAV) family of armored personnel carriers built by General Dynamics Land Systems – Canada (GDLS-C), a London, Ontario , based subsidiary of General Dynamics . It first entered service in 1999, succeeding

228-533: 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. Bison armoured personnel carrier The LAV II Bison and Coyote are armoured cars , or armoured personnel carriers built by General Dynamics Land Systems Canada for the Canadian Armed Forces . Bison vehicles have been used to a lesser extent by

285-607: A large amount of their movement by road within Canada as well as the cheaper operation costs of using a wheeled vehicle for the Reserves. To convince Land Force Command to purchase the vehicle, two engineers from DDGM began to design the vehicle by working on a small scale model of the LAV II chassis. They cut off the troop compartment and added a large box on the rear half of the vehicle, which increased internal capacity. They replaced

342-541: A lobbyist to Ottawa to work on him, making largely the same arguments as DDGM had before, that the Bison would be more cost efficient for operation by the reservists over the tracked M113A3, that the Bison did not face the same restriction for use on roads as the tracked M113, and that the Regular Force would simply reacquisition new M113s, possibly implying that DDGM likely knew that the Regular Force would appropriate

399-646: A manner that is relatively fast and protected. It is the primary tank destroyer of the SBCT, capable of defeating many armored threats up to 4 km away using the TOW missile system. The ATGM vehicle provides standoff for the SBCT by use of its SACLOS guided missiles, which are effective at ranges equal to or exceeding those of most cannons, autocannons , or small arms. It has 4-wheel drive (8×4) and can be switched to all-wheel drive (8×8). The ATGM vehicles are primarily operated by an independent infantry company assigned to each of

456-479: A mast-mounted surveillance system that can be raised to 10 meters above the ground. This system includes the AN/PPS-5C MSTAR Version 3 surface surveillance radar and an electro-optical / infrared surveillance system with a long-range video camera and laser rangefinder . The remote surveillance variant consists of two tripod-mounted systems capable of being deployed up to 200 meters away from

513-517: A maximum road range of 660 kilometres (410 mi). Each vehicle is equipped with a tactical navigation system that includes a GPS receiver , a digital compass system, and a backup dead-reckoning system. A 15-tonne capacity hydraulic winch is fitted to every vehicle to aid in self-recovery. Unlike the LAV-25, the Coyote is equipped with extra fuel tanks in place of amphibious equipment. The Coyote

570-584: A mine or improvised explosive device. 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. The LAV III is equipped with a daytime optical Thermal Imaging System (TIS) and Generation III Image Intensification (II) . The LAV III

627-440: A number of LAV III's were modified with a Nanuk remotely controlled weapon station (RCWS) to provide better protection and to increase the chances of survival of the crew against improvised explosive devices and anti-tank mine threats on the battlefield. 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. The vehicle

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684-405: Is a belt of armour-piercing sabot rounds and a belt of HE-T explosive/fragmentation rounds. The main gun and coax machine gun are 2-axis stabilized. The turret is equipped with a laser rangefinder, but no ballistic computer. Elevation and lead corrections are applied manually by the gunner using multi-stadia reticules in the day, thermal, and image intensification sights. The standard armour of

741-419: Is air-transportable on Hercules C-130 aircraft when the turret is removed. Coyotes come in three variants: Command, Mast, and Remote. The Mast and Remote variants have a sophisticated suite of electronic surveillance equipment including radar , video , and infrared surveillance night vision devices . The mast variant has this equipment mounted on a 10-metre telescoping mast that can be extended to raise

798-509: Is described by Peter Kasurak as being the first step on the road to the transformation of the Canadian Forces, moving away from primarily tracked armoured vehicles towards wheeled armoured vehicles, setting a trend that is still prevalent. The Bison was seen during various high-profile events during the 1990s and 2000s and is often associated with those periods and conflicts. It was seen by the public and used by Canadian Forces during

855-410: Is equipped with a Tactical Navigation System (TacNav) to assist in navigation and target location tasks. The LAV III is equipped with an LCD monitor directly connected to the vehicle's external cameras, providing real-time images of the battlefield for the passengers. The LAV III and related versions have been used in the following: In May 2009, two NZLAVs were deployed to support police during

912-556: 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 . 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. The LAV III faces the same concerns that most other wheeled military vehicles face. Like all wheeled armoured vehicles,

969-453: Is fitted with a nuclear, biological, chemical (NBC) filtration system accompanied with a GID-3 chemical detector and AN/VDR-2 radiation detector systems. 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

1026-560: Is in the process of integrating the LAV III with an active protection system based on the Israeli Trophy system. The majority of Canadian casualties in Afghanistan have occurred during a patrol aboard a LAV III. 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

1083-484: Is to the right of the crew compartment. The Canadian Forces began upgrading the Bison between 2002 and 2008. The upgrades include improved engine power, new torsion bars , fittings for add-on armour, air conditioning , and the VRS respirator system for nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) defence. The Bison's rail-mount system allows it to be adapted to a variety of roles without any major modifications. Bisons used by

1140-737: The Australian Army and the US National Guard . War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Yugoslav Wars (1991-2001) United Nations Operation in Somalia II (1993-1995) Gulf War (1990-1991) The Bison is an armoured personnel carrier that has been in active service since 1990, built by Diesel Division General Motors Canada. They were purchased and intended for operation by the Canadian Forces Primary Reserve , but were rapidly appropriated by

1197-798: The Canadian Armed Forces had identified the need to replace their aging fleet of 1960s and 1970s era armoured personnel carriers. As a result, $ 2.8 billion was earmarked for the Multi-Role Combat Vehicle (MRCV) project by the sitting Conservative government. The mandate of the MRCV project was to provide a series of vehicles based on a common chassis which would replace the M113 armored personnel carrier , Lynx reconnaissance vehicle , Grizzly armoured personnel carrier , and Bison armoured personnel carrier . The project was, however, deemed unaffordable and cancelled by March 1992. By 1994, after

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1254-579: The Canadian Forces Reserves. Leading this project was Colonel Roméo Dallaire , the Head of the Army's Armoured Vehicle Assessment and Procurement at the time, who was intent on purchasing 200 M113A3, the most recently upgraded variant of the M113 series, which the Canadian Forces were already using in the form of M113A1s and M113A2s. The original plan for these 200 M113A3s was to have

1311-608: The Canadian Forces have been adapted for use as armoured personnel carriers (original configuration – mostly replaced in this role by the LAV III ), 81 mm mortar carriers, command post vehicles, field ambulances (32), mobile repair team (MRT) vehicles (32), armoured recovery vehicles (32), airspace coordination centre vehicle, electronic warfare vehicles (25), engineer vehicles equipped with hydraulic tools and NBC reconnaissance vehicles (4). The Bison

1368-641: The LAV II . It is the primary mechanized infantry vehicle of both the Canadian Army and the New Zealand Army . It also forms the basis of the Stryker vehicle used by 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. By July 1991,

1425-782: The Liberal Party had returned to government, the army was still in need of new vehicles. As a result, the army embarked on the Light Armoured Vehicle Project, which would adapt parts of the MRCV Project, and be implemented incrementally to spread out the costs. Also, the requirement to replace the Bisons was dropped. The first phase of the project saw the selection of the LAV II Coyote Reconnaissance Vehicle to replace

1482-615: The Napier shootings . They protected specialist police while retrieving the body of a deceased police officer from outside the offender's residence. In November 2009, it was announced that three NZLAVs would be deployed to assist NZSAS operations in Afghanistan and they were up-armoured. 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

1539-897: The Oka Crisis , the Gulf War as part of the ground security force defending Coalition aircraft, the UN and later NATO missions during the Yugoslav Wars in the form of UNPROFOR , IFOR , SFOR and KFOR , in the United Nations Operation in Somalia II with it being mentioned in the Somalia Affair , and the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) as part of the ISAF contingent as part of the War on Terror . As of July 2009,

1596-463: The Coyote protects against small arms fire, anti-personnel mines, and shrapnel, with add-on armour kits able to protect against larger projectiles. The Coyote is equipped with a suite of devices for detection nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC) weapons, consisting of a GID-3 chemical detector and an AN/VDR-2 radiation monitor. Each vehicle is equipped with an NBC ventilated respirator system. The mast-mounted surveillance variants are equipped with

1653-600: The Government of Canada awarded EODC Engineering, Developing and Licensing Inc. C$ 81.5 million worth of contracts to provide for add-on-armour kits, modules and spares for its LAV III wheeled armoured personnel carriers. This armour kit is intended to provide increased protection against improvised explosive devices (IED) , explosively formed penetrators and 30 mm caliber armour piercing rounds. The LAV III can be also fitted with cage armour , which provides protection against shaped charges . The LAV III

1710-608: 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

1767-497: 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

M1134 anti-tank guided missile vehicle - Misplaced Pages Continue

1824-517: 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

1881-583: The M113 armoured personnel carriers. The LAV III is fitted with a two-man turret, armed with the M242 Bushmaster 25 mm caliber chain gun and a coaxial 7.62-mm machine gun. One more 5.56 mm or 7.62 mm machine guns is positioned on top of the turret. The LAV III also has eight 76-mm grenade launchers in two clusters of four launchers positioned on each side of the turret. The grenade launchers are intended for smoke grenades. In 2009,

1938-497: 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. In 2012, 20 NZLAVs were made available to be sold, and in 2019 this amount

1995-539: The Regular Force of Land Force Command , leaving the armoured Reserve units with unarmed Iltis jeeps. Land Force Command began looking for a new armoured personnel carrier to equip the Canadian Forces Reserves, after the release of the 1987 Defence White Paper by the then recently appointed Minister of National Defence (Canada) Perrin Beatty , which announced major spending increases to support

2052-581: The Stryker brigades. In the 2nd and 3rd Stryker Cavalry Regiments, O Troop is part of the Regimental RSTA Squadron . The M1134 ATGM vehicle is based on the infantry carrier platform due to the close parallels of operational requirements and battlefield capabilities between the two systems. The M1134 is an organic vehicle to the ICV maneuver formation and helps maximize commonality of

2109-449: The baseline LAV-25 by raising the height of the roof, removing the turret ring, placing a commander's cupola behind the driver, and incorporating a rail mount system in the cargo/passenger compartment to quickly change mission specific equipment. The driver is seated in the front-left of the crew compartment. The commander has a slightly raised position directly behind the driver with access to his own hatch and mounted machine gun. The engine

2166-478: The brigade's infantry battalions, form part of the brigade reserve, reinforce the brigade reconnaissance squadron in counter-reconnaissance action, and to counterattack the enemy's. This dedicated ATGM vehicle allows the remainder of the brigade's MAV fleet to be optimized for specific capabilities that can function under the anti-tank overwatch umbrella. Of the 300 Stryker vehicles in a Stryker Brigade Combat Team , nine are M1134 anti-tank vehicles. As of May 2017,

2223-437: 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), the most common cause was found to be unstable terrain, specifically road shoulders unexpectedly giving away beneath

2280-406: The event. The engineers had little time to spare to produce a prototype of the vehicle, and began by starting with a LAV-25 that had been used in tests to judge if the LAV-25 could be airdropped from transport aircraft. Similar to the small scale model, they began by cutting off the troop compartment while keeping the suspension, drive-train, and front half of the vehicle intact. The cut-off area

2337-456: The new vehicles for their own use, as they later did with the Bison. Although Colonel Dallaire did not budge, the army sidestepped him and decided to purchase the Bison in July 1989 in the form of 149 "Bison" armoured personnel carriers, 18 "Bison CP" command posts, 16 "Wolf" 81 mm mortar carriers and 16 "MRV Bison" maintenance and recovery vehicles. The Bison production version differs from

M1134 anti-tank guided missile vehicle - Misplaced Pages Continue

2394-497: The number of Bison vehicles in use were The Coyote has been in service since 1996 for use in the light reconnaissance scout role. It was initially used in the role of medium tank trainer within armoured cavalry squadrons in the same way as the AVGP Cougar it replaced. The Coyote Reconnaissance Vehicle is a non- amphibious armoured reconnaissance vehicle based on the design of the LAV-25. The Canadian Forces ordered 203 of

2451-464: The plant during that time. During this time a small team of salesmen and engineers heard about the army program and thought they had a chance to scoop up the contract and supply a vehicle based on the LAV II chassis with the idea that the vehicle would be better suited to the intended reservist role over the M113A3 due to being wheeled compared to the tracked M113 APC, as the vehicles would likely do

2508-454: The platform while simultaneously reducing the maintenance footprint and variety of logistics support. The ATGM MAV's purpose is to provide the brigade's main tank killing capability firing heavy anti-tank missiles to defeat enemy armored vehicles at range before the enemy tanks can return fire. The intention is that the brigade's separate anti-tank company, equipped with the M1134, will reinforce

2565-638: The support of Michael Wilson , the Minister of Finance , as well as members of Mobile Forces Command Headquarters in Saint-Hubert, Quebec . Engineers and executives of DDGM realized they would likely need the support of Dallaire to obtain the contract and decided that the way to win him over would be to build a full-scale prototype vehicle and present it to him. DDGM saw an opportunity to do this at Canadian Forces Base Borden for Armed Forces Day on June 5, 1988, as both Dallaire and Beatty would be attending

2622-603: The surveillance suite out from behind cover. The remote variant of the Coyote has its surveillance suite mounted on two short tripods, which crew can deploy remotely using a 200-metre spool of cable. When first purchased, the Coyote was designated for service with both the Regular Force and Reserve Force, with the Mast variants earmarked for the Regular units and the Remotes designated for the Reserves. Shortly after taking delivery of

2679-513: The two doors previously used for the troop compartment with a ramp similar to the style found on the M113. This small scale model was then shown to Dallaire, who was not interested in the proposal and continued to support the M113A3 acquisition. At this point DDGM decided to begin flexing lobbying muscles in 1988 to get the Canadian government to consider the vehicle more seriously. DDGM secured

2736-566: The vehicle. The weight balance of the LAV III is taken into consideration during driver training, largely mitigating the chances of a rollover. The basic armour of the LAV III, covering the Standardization Agreement STANAG 4569 level III, which provides all-round protection against 7.62×51mm NATO small calibre rounds. A ceramic appliqué armour ( MEXAS ) can be added, which protects against 14.5×114mm heavy calibre rounds from 500 meters. In December 2008

2793-434: The vehicle. The surveillance systems can detect tank-sized targets at up to 12 kilometres away, and large truck-sized targets at up to 24 kilometres. In good conditions the visual surveillance system can detect personnel up to 20 kilometres away. The Coyote is powered by a Detroit Diesel 6V53T engine developing 275 horsepower (205 kW), and can reach speeds of 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph) on road. The Coyote has

2850-545: The vehicles in 1993 to replace the Lynx reconnaissance vehicle . All were delivered and entered service by 1996. The Coyote originally came in three variants: the "Mast" variant with a mast-mounted surveillance system, a variant with a remote surveillance suite, and a basic reconnaissance/command post variant. The Coyote mounts a 25×137mm M242 Bushmaster chain gun and two 7.62×51mm NATO C6 general purpose machine guns in an electrically driven turret. The turret features

2907-686: The vehicles manufactured in the United States with some parts produced locally in Canada to fulfil Canadian content requirements for Canadian Forces procurement. At the same time, Diesel Division General Motors Canada (DDGM) was nearing completion of LAV-25 production for the United States Marine Corps and was facing the potential of having empty production lines for a year at the Ontario Plant, as they had no additional contracts until 1990 and considered shutting down

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2964-710: The vehicles, but before they were assigned to the Reserve units, all Coyotes were reassigned to the Regular Force. Since the introduction of the Coyote to the Canadian Armed Forces, the vehicle has been used domestically and abroad. The Coyote was deployed during the United Nations  / NATO missions in Bosnia and Herzegovina , Macedonia , Kosovo , and in Afghanistan. Domestically, it has been deployed during "Operation Grizzly" to Kananaskis to secure

3021-432: 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. The upgrade was expected to extend the service life of the vehicle to 2035. In February 2017, the service awarded GDLS-Canada a $ 404 million contract to upgrade 141 more LAV IIIs. In August 2019, GDLS-Canada received

3078-440: Was cut piece by piece and then welded together to create a box on the rear half of the vehicle and was then fitted with a ramp. The turret ring was then replaced with a large folding roof hatch. A raised commander cupola was added on the front left of the vehicle behind the driver. The entire process to produce the prototype took eight days, after which the "Bison", as named by DDGM, was assembled, painted and ready to be shown. It

3135-418: Was driven up to CFB Borden and was presented during the parade on Armed Forces Day. It was considered to be a success, with Beatty coming on board with the idea, but stating that he would not force the army's hand to purchase the Bison over the M113A3. While the prototype had seemingly won over Beatty, Colonel Dallaire was not convinced and continued to support the M113A3 acquisition, which caused DDGM to send

3192-662: 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. Originally 105 NZLAVs, including 95 Infantry Mobility Vehicle (IMV), 7 Light Obstacle Blade Vehicle (LOB) and 3 Recovery Vehicle (LAV-R). In 2003

3249-443: Was raised to 30. 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. In October 2011, GDLS-Canada

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