Canada to spend $1.4 billion on armored combat support vehicles built locally

VICTORIA, British Columbia — Canada is significantly expanding its armored fleet with a new contract to acquire 190 combat support vehicles over the next four years.

The contract, worth almost $2 billion CAN (US$1.4 billion), was awarded to General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada, based in London, Ontario. Canada will also pay for GDLS-Canada to build another 35 armored combat support vehicles for Ukraine, said Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who announced the deal on July 16.

Canada had previously donated 89 such vehicles to Ukraine.

The new purchase will see the Canadian Army’s wheeled light armored combat support vehicle fleet increase from 360 vehicles to 550 vehicles.

GDLS-Canada was originally awarded the contract for the first 360 armored combat support vehicles in August 2019. Those vehicles have already been delivered.

ACSVs have eight variants – ambulance, command post, troop/cargo, electronic warfare, maintenance and recovery, mobile repair team, fitter/cargo, and engineer. They are all based on the GDLS-Canada’s Light Armored Vehicle 6.0 platform, which helps the army reduce training and sustainment costs. ACSVs are currently deployed with the Canadian-led NATO Multinational Brigade in Latvia.

Carney also announced that GDLS-Canada has been designated as the first strategic partner under his government’s newly established Defence Industrial Strategy’s framework. That framework puts emphasis on buying defense equipment from Canadian-based firms.

“Through this framework, we’re creating a pathway for Canadian companies like GDLS-Canada to work more closely with our government to build those sovereign capabilities: the armored vehicles, the drones, the icebreakers, the equipment that our armed forces need,” Carney said in a televised news conference from the GDLS-C plant.

The framework requires companies to commit to investing in Canadian research and development, hiring domestic workers and expanding their domestic supply chains. “In return, the federal government will act as an anchor customer — accelerating approvals and opening doors to new export markets,” Carney said. “The commitment is simple: when Canadian companies build for Canada, Canada will build with them.”

Carney said the construction of armored vehicles at GDLS-Canada involves more than 600 Canadian suppliers.

Carney launched the defense industrial strategy framework in the aftermath of U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision in 2025 to hit Canada with significant tariffs as well as other threats of economic punishment. Trump has warned that the only way Canada could escape such economic measures would be to become a 51 st state.

As a result, Carney noted that Canada needed to reduce its alliance on the U.S., particularly in regard to U.S.-built military equipment. “We should no longer send three-quarters of our defense capital spending to America,” Carney said June 9, 2025.

He left the door open to working with U.S.-owned firms, such as GDLS-Canada, as long as they made an economic commitment to Canada.

GDLS-Canada vice president and general manager Dave Haggerty welcomed the strategic agreement between the firm and the Canadian government. “Our team takes great pride in the opportunity to provide Canadian soldiers with the advanced combat vehicle platforms and support they need to succeed, while continuing to strengthen Canada’s sovereign capabilities, its defense industrial base, and skilled workforce,” Haggerty said in a statement.

David Pugliese is the Canada correspondent for Defense News.

加拿大不列颠哥伦比亚省维多利亚市——加拿大正在大幅扩充其装甲车队，一项新合同将在未来四年内采购 190 辆作战支援车辆。

这份价值近20亿加元（约合14亿美元）的合同授予了位于安大略省伦敦市的通用动力陆地系统加拿大公司（General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada）。加拿大总理马克·卡尼于7月16日宣布了这项协议，并表示加拿大还将支付通用动力陆地系统加拿大公司为乌克兰建造另外35辆装甲作战支援车辆的费用。

加拿大此前曾向乌克兰捐赠过 89 辆此类车辆。

此次新采购将使加拿大陆军的轮式轻型装甲战斗支援车辆数量从 360 辆增加到 550 辆。

GDLS-Canada 最初于 2019 年 8 月获得首批 360 辆装甲作战支援车辆的合同。这些车辆已经交付。

ACSV共有八种衍生车型——救护车、指挥所、运兵/货运车、电子战车、维护与回收车、移动维修队、机械/货运车和工程车。它们全部基于通用动力陆地系统加拿大公司（GDLS-Canada）的轻型装甲车6.0平台打造，这有助于军队降低训练和维护成本。ACSV目前已部署在加拿大领导的北约多国旅驻拉脱维亚部队中。

卡尼还宣布，GDLS-Canada已被指定为加拿大政府新制定的国防工业战略框架下的首个战略合作伙伴。该框架强调从加拿大本土企业采购国防装备。

卡尼在GDLS-C工厂举行的电视新闻发布会上说：“通过这一框架，我们正在为像GDLS-Canada这样的加拿大公司创造一条与我国政府更紧密合作的途径，以建立这些自主能力：装甲车、无人机、破冰船以及我们武装部队需要的装备。”

该框架要求企业承诺投资加拿大研发、雇用本地员工并扩大其国内供应链。“作为回报，联邦政府将作为核心客户，加快审批流程并打开通往新出口市场的大门，”卡尼表示。“承诺很简单：当加拿大企业为加拿大发展时，加拿大也将与它们携手共进。”

卡尼表示，GDLS-加拿大公司生产装甲车涉及600多家加拿大供应商。

卡尼是在美国总统唐纳德·特朗普决定于2025年对加拿大加征高额关税并发出其他经济惩罚威胁之后，启动了国防工业战略框架。特朗普警告说，加拿大要想摆脱这些经济措施，唯一的办法就是成为美国的第51个州。

因此，卡尼指出，加拿大需要减少对美国的依赖，尤其是在美国制造的军事装备方面。“我们不应该再把四分之三的国防开支都花在美国身上，”卡尼在2025年6月9日表示。

他表示，只要美国公司（如 GDLS-Canada）对加拿大做出经济承诺，加拿大就愿意与它们合作。

通用动力陆地系统加拿大公司副总裁兼总经理戴夫·哈格蒂对公司与加拿大政府达成的战略协议表示欢迎。哈格蒂在一份声明中表示：“我们的团队非常荣幸有机会为加拿大士兵提供他们所需的先进作战车辆平台和支持，帮助他们取得成功，同时继续增强加拿大的自主能力、国防工业基础和技术工人队伍。”

David Pugliese 是《国防新闻》的加拿大通讯员。