The country's Ottawa-based commando unit will receive a fleet of new war wagons next year in a deal expected to be worth more than $100 million.
Evaluation of new vehicles for the military's Joint Task Force 2 commando unit, based at Dwyer Hill, and the special operations regiment in Petawawa has narrowed the search to two candidates, both to be built in the United States.
JTF2 and the Canadian Special Operations Regiment now use Humvees built by AM General in Indiana. Those were purchased during the early days of the Afghan war for JTF2.
Craig McNab of AM General said the company was pursuing the Canadian special forces vehicle project and was waiting for the second phase of the program to begin. That would involve the government issuing a request for proposals to the two companies whose vehicles have been selected.
McNab said he didn't want to get into details about the specific type of vehicle offered to Canada, but he added that AM General had established a good relationship with Canadian special forces through a maintenance and battlefield repair program the company offers on JTF2's existing fleet of Humvees. "We have a particularly good training program with U.S. special operations, and the Canadians liked it as well," he said.
Lockheed Martin is the second firm selected with its Supacat family of vehicles, industry officials say. Those high-mobility trucks were originally designed in Britain, and some variants, such as the Jackal, are in service with special forces and regular force units.
Lockheed Martin has a deal to sell the British vehicles to militaries in Canada and the United States.
In January, the Australian government announced that it had taken delivery of the first of 30 Supacat Jackal patrol vehicles for its special forces. Those vehicles are worth more than $1 million each...
