GDLS Canada to deliver light-armoured vehicles to Peruvian Marines

General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS)-Canada has been awarded a contract by the Peruvian Ministry of Defence to deliver light-armoured vehicles (LAV) to the Peruvian Marines.

Under the $67m contract, signed through Canadian Commercial, a Crown agency of the Government of Canada, GDLS will deliver 32 personnel carrier variants of the LAV II, equipped with amphibious capabilities.

General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada vice-president Danny Deep said: "We are proud to have been selected by the Peruvian Marines to meet their armoured vehicle requirement and look forward to establishing a long-term relationship with this very important customer."

The contract also includes a complete logistics support package, with deliveries scheduled to start by mid-2015.

The 300hp 8×8 LAV II version can offer a gross vehicle weight of approximately 32,000lb.

Features of the high-mobility LAV II include a 25mm turret-mounted main gun, lightweight armour and reduced maintenance requirements for a range of uses such as command and control, reconnaissance, surveillance, anti-tank missions and personnel carrier duties.

GDLS has also launched the improvised version of LAV II, the LAV III, which is based on the MOWAG Piranha IIIH 8×8 vehicle, with 651 LAVs currently operational with the Canadian Army as primary mechanised infantry vehicles.

Also called Piranha III, the LAV III vehicles are built in a 6×6, 8×8 and 10×10 configuration, and the modular design enables a choice of high-performance engines and torque-matching automatic transmissions to be integrated.