Canadian Army receives first TAPV armoured vehicles

The Canadian Army will induct a total of 500 TAPV 4x4 protected tactical vehicles. [Image: Canadian Army]

The Canadian Army's 5th Canadian Division (5CdnDiv) took delivery of an initial six TAPV/VPBT (Tactical Armored Patrol Vehicle/Véhicule Blindé Tactique de Patrouille) 4×4 mine protected high-mobility multipurpose vehicles from Textron Systems Canada on 12 August. The fleet at the 5th Canadian Division Support Base (5 CDSB) in Gagetown will be used to train operators and maintenance personnel.

In June 2012, the Canadian Government's organisation Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) awarded a CAD603.4 million contract to Textron Systems Canada to manufacture 500 TAPV vehicles, including an option for an additional 100 vehicles. The purchase includes 300 general utility variants and 200 reconnaissance variants to replace the Coyote 8x8 vehicle and RG-31 Mk3 Nyala 4x4 vehicle.

The contractor also received an additional CAD105.4 million contract for a five-year in-service support package. The fleet is to be distributed across several bases and units. The fleet will be distributed across the 2nd, 3th, 4th and 5th Canadian Divisions, Army Equipment Fielding Centre, and Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers School.

The TAPV is based on the COMMANDO Elite design of Textron Systems Marine & Land Systems. The COMMANDO series were exported to Colombia, Iraq, Afghanistan and Bulgaria.

It is equipped with a 365 hp Cummins QSL 365 diesel engine, Allison Transmission 3200SP automatic transmission, Kongsberg Protech Systems Protector DRWS (Dual Remote Weapon Station) remote weapon station armed with FN Herstal 7.62mm C6 light machine gun, smoke grenade launchers and 40mm Heckler & Koch GMG automatic grenade launcher; front and rear cameras; roof-mounted spare tire; appliqué armour package from IBD Deisenroth Engineering and its local subsidiary EODC (Engineering Office Deisenroth Canada); climate control system; health and usage monitoring system; laser warning system; wire cutter; mounts for antennas; navigation suite; NBC protection system; communications and command and control systems; Michelin 16.00R20 XZL tires with run flat inserts from Hutchinson, fully independent front and rear suspension.

Suppliers to the TAPV programme include Rheinmetall Canada, EODC, Kongsberg Protech Systems Canada, Michelin, General Kinetics, Evraz North America, SED Systems, Ontario Drive and Gear, Mobile Climate Control, USIMAX and Usicast Industries.

The first vehicle was scheduled to be delivered to the Canadian Army from July 2014 and the last delivery was scheduled for March 2016. However, in 2014, pre-production vehicles experienced a number of technical issues. Design changes and modifications to address the problems were fixed. The last delivery is now scheduled for late 2017.

It features a gross vehicle weight of 18.4 t, length of 6.81 m, width of 2.69 m, top speed of 105 km/h, and 644 km maximum range.

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