The first four of a planned 360 Armour Combat Support Vehicles manufactured by General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada in London were formally accepted by the Canadian Army today at Garrison Petawawa, Ontario

Delivery of the first batch, all ambulance variants of the Light Armoured Vehicle 6.0, which first saw service as the Army’s primary infantry fighting vehicle a decade ago, had not been expected until 2025 but DND simply cited “a faster timeline” for the $2-billion procurement.

Seven other variants, all expected to be in service by the end of the decade, will be kitted out as command posts, for electronic warfare, as engineer vehicles, repair shops, maintenance and recovery vehicles, and as discrete troop and fitter cargo vehicles.

DND said in a statement that having similar platforms will mean reduced training and sustainment costs, as well as parts commonality, critical in combat operations or other urgent deployments.