Lav iv

David Dunlop · #1 06-09-13, 16:23

Just got back home from dropping my wife off at work.

At 08:00, on the trip back home, I was passed by a low bed rig hauling a LAV IV. It was travelling on the south end of Waverley Street, here in Winnipeg, Manitoba, headed towards the South Perimeter Highway.

The LAV looked brand new. All over green with absolutely no military markings on it. The front lamps and all other exposed glasswork and openings seemed to be covered by a lime green light weight plastic, and written on the upper right rear flank of the body in white chalk was the following:

LAV IV
August Sale

Anybody got any ideas as to where it might have come from and where it might be headed?

David

Scott Bentley · #2 06-09-13, 21:01

It's most likely a refurbished LAV III headed for Shilo or Edmonton.

Most of the LAV's that returned from TFA have been going through a mid life/post combat upgrade.

rob love · #3 07-09-13, 00:43

That is the nice thing about the trans-canada highway thru MB....there is no other way through. I see LAVs all the time, and just last weekend saw 2 Leopards heading West. All are in perfect paint jobs, which I also took as being re-furbed Kandahar returns.

I have a short contract right now at the base, where I am also seeing a few familiar CFR numbers on some of the LiftKing RTFLs that I used to look after in Kandahar, including the dreaded 017.

Small army!

Andrew · #4 07-09-13, 02:17

I saw one too, maybe the same one last friday heading south on the 400 hwy south of hwy 9 in ontario. It did have something written on rear left side stating august sale?

David Dunlop · #5 08-09-13, 02:17

Not being all that up on current armour, I did a quick check on LAV's on the web and based on what I found, my ID of the vehicle in transit should probably be corrected to LAV III. What I assumed to be a roman numeral 'IV' must have simply been sloppy writing on the part of whoever chalked the LAV. Still wonder what the 'August Sale' was all about. Maybe whoever is doing the refit had a deal on for the Canadian military last month.

David

Andrew · #6 08-09-13, 02:51

here are a few shots,
sorry wife shot them and shes not great at it lol

David Dunlop · #7 08-09-13, 03:02

Hi Andrew.

Yes, same green wrap etc as the one I saw. The transporter I saw here had a higher deck with the rear wheels under it. Your spotting has a lot more chalking on it and a lot neater than the one here. Must be some sort of code.

David

Yeo.NT · #8 08-09-13, 06:55

It is possible this is a vehicle that is sold by general dynamics to a country that uses the LAV III based vehicles. As it says on the side of the vehicle it is a "LAV UP" which is the newest model, bigger heavier and more technology

rob love · #9 08-09-13, 15:27

http://www.gdlscanada.com/index.php/...les-lav/lav-up

Quote:

LAV UP
On 21 October 2011, Rona Ambrose, Minister of Public Works and Government Services, and Associate Minister of National Defence Julian Fantino jointly announced that the $1.064 billion Implementation Phase of the LAV III Upgrade Project (LAV-UP) had been awarded to General Dynamics Land Systems - Canada. The program will upgrade 550 LAV IIIs of Canada's fleet in four variants: the Infantry Section Carrier, Command Post, Observation Post Vehicle and Engineer variants. Each will undergo a comprehensive upgrade aimed at extending their lifecycle to 2035. The upgrades will be performed at facilities in London, Ontario, and Edmonton, Alberta, and will extend from 2012 to 2017. 

These upgrades will allow for significant improvements in survivability, mobility and lethality. Survivability enhancements include switching to a Double-V Hull offering inherent and weight efficient protection from mine and IED threats as well as energy-attenuating seats at all crew locations. A more powerful 450hp engine is included as well as upgrades to the drivetrain and suspension. Turret sights will be upgraded to extend their range and gun control electronics are being improved to reduce crew workload. The fully upgraded vehicle weighs 55,000lbs (25,000kg), but testing has demonstrated that its mobility is comparable to or better than the original high-mobility 38,000lb APC vehicle that the upgrade is based on.

David Dunlop · #10 08-09-13, 15:41

Would the upgrades arriving at Shilo all be from Edmonton, or are both plants involved collectively across the country. Just curious because I would not expect to see a LAV for Shilo coming through Winnipeg and then backtracking. But then again, it was a government awarded contract.

David

rob love · #11 08-09-13, 17:10

Can't comment, not because of security, but because I have no information on the subject.

Alex Blair (RIP) · #12 09-09-13, 00:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by rob love

Can't comment, not because of security, but because I have no information on the subject.

Rob..Your a pretty knowledgeable guy//been around to different country's..maybe you can tell me this..or maybe we should get one of our Dutch member's to tell us..interesting question..

If people from Poland are called Poles, then why aren't people from Holland called Holes?

(keep the postings coming..good stuff)\
Alex

Eric Korhonen · #13 09-09-13, 19:54

I was driving along hwy 11/17 heading west on sunday close to Ignace in northern ontario, I saw two freshly painted Lav's heading east on floats. It seems they are everywhere except in my back yard. Ha ha. Eric