Production of General Dynamics' armored vehicles for Canadian Army has begun

The first ACSV is scheduled to roll off the production line in December. The new vehicles will replace the army's M113 Tracked Light Armoured Vehicle and LAV II Bison fleets

Production of General Dynamics' armored vehicles for Canadian Army has begun

Photo: Canadian Army

General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada (GDLS-C) has begun producing its first Armoured Combat Support Vehicle (ACSV) for the Canadian Army and is expected to complete it by the end of the year, Janes.com reported Wednesday. 

The army is replacing its current M113 Tracked Light Armoured Vehicle (TLAV) and LAV II Bison fleets with the new vehicle line. The Department of National Defence announced Tuesday that the first ACSV will roll off the production line in December. The military will then conduct testing and training activities before it begins to field the vehicle to troops in 2022. If all goes as planned, the company will continue producing and delivering the new vehicles to the service through February 2025.

"These vehicles will form the backbone of the army’s combat support fleet and be used on a wide range of operations including domestic disaster relief and international peace support missions,” Minister of National Defence Harjit Sajjan said in the announcement.

Janes.com noted that in September 2019, GDLS-C secured the CA$2 billion (US$1.5 billion) contract to produce 360 ACSVs, along with initial spare parts, technical manuals, and training. Under the deal, the company will produce eight ACSV variants that will provide services such as ambulances, vehicle recovery, engineering, mobile repair, electronic warfare, troop carrying, and command posts.