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http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/Canada-Looks-to-Upgrade-Its-Armor-in-Afghanistan-05190/

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FLCV: Canada Looks to Upgrade Its Armor 

17-Oct-2010 13:07 UTC

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LAV-III stuck
LAV-III: stuck
(click to view larger)

CCV rebooted. (Sept 7/10)

In late November 2008, Canada’s Department of National Defence (DND) announced its intention to combine 3 programs into one general set of upgrades to its armored vehicle fleets. The C$ 5 billion (about $4.3 billion) meta-program would include (1) a “close combat vehicle,” in order to perform as a tracked Infantry Fighting Vehicle or Armored Personnel Carrier alongside Canada’s new Leopard 2A6 tanks; (2) a new “Tactical Armored Patrol Vehicle”; and (3) upgrades the existing LAV-III wheeled APC fleet. In July 2009, A 4th “FME” project was added to field dedicated Armored Engineering Vehicles based on the Leopard 2, along with engineering-related attachments for Canada’s new Leopard 2 tanks.

The “Close Combat Vehicle” appears to be the most urgent purchase, but the stated procurement approach isn’t structured to deliver urgency. As things stand, all contracts are scheduled to take effect after Canada is slated to end its Afghan mission. The LAV-IIIs showed limitations in key terrain within Afghanistan, and keeping them in the field requires a lot of maintenance. Canada’s M113 tracked APCs have been used successfully as a supplement, but the Canadians appear to be leaning toward a heavier vehicle for their future CCV…

    * The Close Combat Vehicle [updated]
    * The Tactical Armored Patrol Vehicle
    * LAV-IIIs, and the RESET/RECAP Imperative
    * Force Mobility Enhancement: Heavy Engineering
    * Contracts & Key Events [updated]
    * Additional Readings & Sources

The Close Combat Vehicle
CF M113 Afghanistan
CF M113, Afghanistan
(click to view larger)

The CCV is not replacing a vehicle in the current Canadian Forces fleet. Instead, it is meant to bridge the gap between 5t-20t light armoured vehicles and main battle tanks. A 2008 Ottawa Citizen report drove the mobility point home:

“Defence sources say the current LAV-3 does not have the mobility needed for the job in off-road conditions. The likely preferred option is to go for a tracked vehicle.”

Initial plans call for 108 CCVs, with an option for up to 30 more, ad aimed at a “competitive military off-the-shelf approach.” for existing vehicles. The project’s definition phase included a solicitation of interest and qualifications (SOIQ) and a request for proposals (RFP). A contract was expected by summer 2011, with initial operational capability (IOC) declared a year later in July 2012. Full operational capability was expected by July 2015.

All that was derailed by the failure of the initial solicitation. Submissions included BAE’s CV90-35 and General Dynamics’ tracked ASCOD; as well as wheeled vehicles that included GD MOWAG’s Piranha 5, Nexter’s VBCI, and the German-Dutch Boxer MRAV. Canada was reportedly interested in Germany’s Puma IFV, but KMW and Rheinmetall decided not to bid. The final contenders are the exact same vehicles that competed for Britain’s FRES-Scout and FRES-Utility contracts, but all were reportedly eliminated for not meeting the armour requirements – an odd outcome when a defense department is supposedly aiming its RFP at military-off-the-shelf vehicles.

Canada’s DND says that is still looking at options between 25t – 45t, which would encompass almost every IFV on the market.

Existing M113s could be upgraded with cage and/or explosive reactive armor, upgraded with a higher caliber turret or remote weapon system, and have their engines and transmissions upgraded to M113A3 or better status. Australia has taken this approach, absent the full explosive reactive armor protection required to defeat early model Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) anti-tank rockets. Canada ’s own M113 Life Extension Project has been underway since 2000, but its aim has mostly been to improve maintenance with new engines and transmissions, while converting most of Canada’s M113s to specialty support variants. This makes them less than ideal candidates, and at 12.3 tonnes, the base vehicle is underweight for Canada’s stated requirements.
CV90 Afghanistan
Swedish CV90, Afghanistan
(click to view full)

For the revised RFP, BAE Hagglunds’ CV90 series remains a strong contender. This popular armored vehicle comes in a number of variants, including IFV troop carriers with turret options ranging from 30mm-40mm, up-gunned 105mm and even 120mm assault guns and tank killers (105 or 120T), reconnaissance and forward observation (FOV), C2 forward command (FCV or COM), armored recovery (ARV), and a 40mm anti-aircraft model (AAV). Canada had expressed interest during the vehicle’s initial development, but backed out; a purchase now would make them its 7th customer, alongside Sweden, Denmark, Finland, The Netherlands, Norway, and Switzerland.

BAE appears to have chosen to offer this IFV for the competition, instead of the American Bradley. If Canada does purchase CV90s, there have been rumors that it might adopt that same approach used to buy Leopard 2 tanks: immediate lease from an existing owner to get the vehicles into the field quickly, followed by a longer-term purchase or lease-to-buy arrangement. Sweden would be the most likely lease owner candidate, and CV90s have already seen combat in Afghanistan with Norwegian, Danish, and Swedish forces.

In November 2007, CV90s saw heavy combat during Operation Harekate Yolo in Afghanistan, where they were used alongside outnumbered Norwegian 2nd battalion and Kystjegerkommandoen troops to beat down a Taliban attack on in the Ghowrmach district, near Mazar-e-Sharif. In May 2008, 2nd battalion used them during Operation Karez in Badghis Province. An attempted Taliban ambush used heavy machine gun fire and RPG volleys, which could have been devastating against unarmored or lightly armored vehicles. Instead, 2nd battalion used its CV90s to kill the ambushers. Norwegian casualties? None.
BvS10 Under RAF CH-47
RAF CH-47 w. BvS10,
Afghanistan
(click to view full)

The other touted contender in press reports is the German Puma IFV, which is under contract but not yet operational. Canada would become the vehicle’s 2nd customer behind Germany, and this option offers no possibility of immediate bridging leases, or lease-to-buy arrangements from an existing customer.

BAE’s M2A3 Bradley IFV is another vehicle in that category, which would be available as rapid-delivery vehicles from the US Army and its Bradley remanufacturing lines. It has also been absent from press mentions to date, as BAE seems to prefer the CV90 as its tracked contender.

Despite their successful use by British forces in Afghanistan, and the presence of Bv206 vehicles that performed well with the Princess Patricia Canadian Light Infantry Battle Group during Afghanistan’s Operation Anaconda, the much lighter BvS10 all terrain armored vehicle falls below DND’s weight threshold, and has not been mentioned in reports to date. Canada appears to prefer a heavier vehicle with a demonstrated capacity to defeat RPG rounds, over the BvS family’s improved air and ground mobility.
Piranha-V VBCI Boxer-MRAV
FRES-U finalists:
Boxer, Piranha, VBCI
(click to view full)

The surprise of Canada’s CCV competition has been bids offering wheeled vehicles, despite the inability of Canada’s existing LAV-III 8×8 APCs to handle Afghan terrain. The government had specified desired mobility levels for CCV, but did not specify tracks or wheels.

“Piranha” is the European designation for GD MOWAG’s vehicles, so a Piranha III and a LAV-III are extremely similar. They reportedly offered their Piranha V, a follow-on development of that 8×8 wheeled platform. Meanwhile, the USA is taking its own steps with V-hulled LAV-III/Stryker designs designed for better protection against IED land mines.

France has picked Nexter’s VBCI 8×8 wheeled vehicle to replace its tracked IFV fleet, but they remain its sole customer. The vehicle is in production, and deliveries have begun.

The same cannot yet be said for Germany and The Netherlands’ Boxer MRAV. The Boxer reportedly offers a more modular approach than its competitors, thanks to its ability to switch out different modules for different missions. On the other hand, it has encountered acceptance delays in the Netherlands, and had its acceptance criteria changed by Germany so it could accept the vehicles without a delay.

The Tactical Armored Patrol Vehicle
RG-31 and G-Wagen
RG-31 and G-Wagen
(click to view full)

The second program, for an armored Tactical Patrol Vehicle, is more ambiguous. Canada currently operates 50-75 RG-31 Nyala “Armoured Patrol Vehicles” in Afghanistan, which have had some maintenance issues but performed well as route-clearance vehicles and convoy leads. A handful of heavier Cougar 6×6 and Buffalo vehicles currently round out Canada’s blast-resistant vehicle fleet, with 50 more on the way. They are accompanied by a large number of Mercedes G-Wagen vehicles, whose protection level is very low – far too low for deployment as a patrol vehicle in combat zones.

A DND Backgrounder says that the renamed TAPV program will consist of 500 vehicles, with an option for another 100. An initial 300 TAPV General Utility Vehicle variants will replace the current RG-31 Armoured Patrol Vehicle. They will carry a crew of 3, plus 4 equipped passengers and a remote-controlled weapon (RWS) up top. Canada’s LAV 2 Coyote reconnaissance vehicles will be replaced with another 200 TAPV reconnaissance variants, which will carry a crew of 4, plus a one-man turret or a RWS, in addition to extensible surveillance equipment. According to DND, TAPV will “complement” the existing Mercedes G-Wagen LUV-W.

The procurement process will be a competitive military off-the-shelf acquisition, and the key term will be whether the competition restricts the competition to combat-proven designs. A letter of interest (LOI) and price and availability (P&A) will be issued in summer 2009 to identify potential bidders, followed by a solicitation of interest and qualification (SOIQ) and a request for proposals (RFP). That RFP isn’t expected until fall 2010, moving the contract award back to fall 2011. Initial operational capability is expected by 2013, and all deliveries by 2015.

The platform question is whether TAPV will end up buying MRAP size blast-resistant vehicles, or wind up as something closer to the American/Australian JLTV competition’s lighter 7-10 ton vehicle set, with blast protection that compares with an RG-31, but far better off-road and urban mobility.

Time will tell.

LAV-IIIs, and the RESET/RECAP Imperative
LAV-III Afghanistan
Canadian LAV-III,
Afghanistan
(click to view full)

The 3rd vehicle program would involve Canada’s LAV-III fleet, which is being ground down by Afghan operations. An up-armoring program is underway for the existing fleet, but that fleet will eventually need to be RESET, remanufactured, or replaced. The Canadian Army adds that this problem is not unique to the LAV-III platform, as they grapple with the same vehicle wear issues experienced by the Americans, British, and Dutch. From the Ottawa Citizen:

“All of our equipment is either deployed, being reset, used in training or broken and waiting either labour or spare parts,” wrote army commander Lt.-Gen. Andrew Leslie in the January [2008] report.”

General Dynamics Canada, which manufactures the LAV-III for Canadian and American customers, has reportedly floated the idea of a LAV-H (Heavy) replacement that would incorporate a slightly v-hulled sub-floor for added mine protection, while raising the vehicle’s maximum recommended weight from 17.2t/ 38,000 pounds to 25t/ 55,100 pounds in order to cope with additional equipment and heavier armor.

The other option for the Canadian Forces is some form of full RESET program, similar to the efforts by the US Army to restore its vehicles to “zero mile” configuration. At present, the CASR think tank states that “All Afghan-deployed LAV IIIs must be rotated out for refit and repair every 12 months”; but this is more akin to depot maintenance than full disassembly and RESET.

In the end, the 2 may be combined. Canada’s LAV-III Upgrade Program officially aims to extend the fleet’s life span to 2035, which strongly implies a full RESET. At the same time, the program will add heavier armor, upgraded weapons, and mobility upgrades to the vehicles’ powertrain, suspension, running gear and brakes. This combination sounds a lot like General Dynamics’s LAV-H for the US military, and the US Army is already starting to add blast-deflecting v-hulls to its Stryker LAV-III variants. Canada’s project will upgrade 550 vehicles, with an option for an additional 80. Initial operational capability is scheduled for 2012.

In the mean time, the LAV LORIT (LAV Operational Requirements Integration Task) program will make immediate changes to vehicles serving in Afghanistan. The LORIT program will cover 141 vehicles. It standardizes common field modifications, like using Hesco Bastion insta-barrier frames as extra stowage bins and side-mounted blast protection. It also adds Armatec energy-absorbing seats that reduce spinal injuries from transmitted blast shock, a protective machine gunner’s cupola with glass vision ports, additional composite armor mounted below the troop compartment, and weight-saving aluminum wheel rims.

Force Mobility Enhancement: Heavy Engineering
AEV-3 Kodiak Leopard-2
AEV-3 Kodiak
(click to view full)

In July 2009, DND announced a 4th component to FCLV, the Force Mobility Enhancement (FME) project. FME will involve a fleet of Armored Engineer Vehicles (AEV) and Armored Recovery Vehicles (ARV) that will support the Leopard 2 tanks, LAV III, and future fleets, including the Close Combat Vehicle and the Tactical Armoured Patrol Vehicle. The FME project will also install “tactical mobility” (combat engineering) implements on the fleet of Leopard 2 main battle tanks, something that was done very successfully with Canada’s Leopard 1s.

Because this project is closely connected to Canada’s Leopard 2 tank buy, it is covered within that article. See “Tanks for the Lesson: Leopards, too, for Canada.”

http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/Canada-Looks-to-Upgrade-Its-Armor-in-Afghanistan-05190/