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.

"We are proud to have been selected by the Peruvian Marines to meet their armoured vehicle requirement."

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.

Defence Technology