Armoured Combat Vehicle - Wheeled (ACV-W)

[Underway]

Noah over at True North Strategic Review (substack) who has some pretty reliable sources posted this today (I've corrected his typing/spelling... that's the only edit) : This Week in Defence (05/11/26): 5080 LAV?! MCAV Update, Canadian HADES? Bill C-31, FASST-V Infobox, Lots Of Random Thoughts, TKMSxGDMSC, Lots Of UGV

• ALAV is dead. Long Live Armoured Combat Vehicle - Wheeled (ACV-W)! This new project covers both future LAV and ACSV as far as I know, merging the file into one general procurement based off a common platform. Makes sense.

ACV-W is an ongoing, continuous initiative stretching out past 2035. It aims to create a continuous procurement platform for the LAV family, with goals to more than double the fleet over the next decade.

ACV-W is still a very early concept in itself, and I can't say what of all is included. The priority will be on a agile-form of procurement, focusing on incremental improvements and upgrades to the family over a set timeline.

ACV-W will be used to also explore new, emerging technologies like hybrid-drive, Lithium Battery Systems, Next-Generation Mobile Camouflage systems, Active Protection Systems, UxS integration, and Counter-Drone Technologies.

Armament is still being worked on but ATGM and Loitering Munitions being integrated from the start seem very likely. Leading caliber of the main gun in currently 30mm but that could, and some are arguing should change.

The current expectations financially is set at ~$62-86 billion dollars depending heavily on how many we end uo procuring. The lowest number given is 2300, while the Army would prefer 3908 to meet NATO commitments.

The highest number though, which assumes a full of society mobilization in a major global conflict calls for a staggering 5080 LAV! Over five times the current inventory.

ACV-W is still unfunded though, and for now the numbers remain flexible, esepcially considering that ACV-W will not be a one time procurement but a vehicle for sustained procurement over a decade+. Still, makes you wonder.

So 2300-5080 ACV variants (with the expectation that they will probably land in the 4000 range).

This is the drive to five (%).

There were also some good MCAV rumors as well. Similar ideas with a long running progam but the numbers were much lower. But I didn't want to muddle the thread.

 

[MilEME09]

I would assume all these numbers have a lot of flex, given ACV-W numbers might be affected by what sort of support vehicle MCAV can and cant do. ditto for the tanks, that said at face value, hypothetically, if we got the high end of MCAV, HDFM, and ACV-W, our AFV fleet will be well over 7000 vehicles, this would put us as the 5th largest AFV force in NATO!

 

[Underway]

I would assume all these numbers have a lot of flex, given ACV-W numbers might be affected by what sort of support vehicle MCAV can and cant do. ditto for the tanks, that said at face value, hypothetically, if we got the high end of MCAV, HDFM, and ACV-W, our AFV fleet will be well over 7000 vehicles, this would put us as the 5th largest AFV force in NATO!

This feels a lot like the National Shipbuilding Strategy. A continuous build program with evolutionary changes as lessons are learned and fed back into the design --> product cycle. Never stop producing at a particular rate so the industry has stability and skills don't fade.

Then you can ramp up as needed.

 

[Czech_pivo]

I would assume all these numbers have a lot of flex, given ACV-W numbers might be affected by what sort of support vehicle MCAV can and cant do. ditto for the tanks, that said at face value, hypothetically, if we got the high end of MCAV, HDFM, and ACV-W, our AFV fleet will be well over 7000 vehicles, this would put us as the 5th largest AFV force in NATO!

Top 5 being

1)
2)
3)
4)
5) Canada

 

[Czech_pivo]

This feels a lot like the National Shipbuilding Strategy. A continuous build program with evolutionary changes as lessons are learned and fed back into the design --> product cycle. Never stop producing at a particular rate so the industry has stability and skills don't fade.

Then you can ramp up as needed.

Questions:

We are ramping up skills and abilities to continuously produce 155mm shells but we don't manufacture the deliver mechanism - the artillery piece itself.

We are now moving to a continuous builds on the ACV side of things, but in this case we won't be producing its main armament (30mm) or its shells, in addition currently it doesn't look like we are producing any other potential armaments for these ACV.

Will there ever be a situation where we here in Canada can produce an entire weapons platform (if that's the correct term) from start to finish? WIll that not go a longer way in ending our reliance on outside foreign powers?

 

[MilEME09]

Top 5 being

1)
2)
3)
4)
5) Canada

US, France, turkey, UK, Poland then Germany. Poland will take 4th and we woukd take 5th by 2040 at this rate

 

[Underway]

US, France, turkey, UK, Poland then Germany. Poland will take 4th and we woukd take 5th by 2040 at this rate

Germany will overtake someone shortly. They are ramping up as well.

Will there ever be a situation where we here in Canada can produce an entire weapons platform (if that's the correct term) from start to finish? WIll that not go a longer way in ending our reliance on outside foreign powers?

Doubtful. Always something built somewhere else. We're in a globalized economy still. Unless everything legitimately breaks down we'll never produce our own "X" component. We don't make our own computer chips for example, and likely never will. You can build resilience into the supply lines but you can't make everything perfect.