Canada Upgrades Its Armor Force

July 13, 2009: Canada is spending $4.3 to upgrade its armored vehicles. Some $3.4 billion will buy as many as 650 new vehicles, to replace an aging armored force. These vehicles have not been selected yet, and won't begin showing up for three years. They will include a tracked Infantry Fighting Vehicle and a Combat Engineer Vehicle based on the Leopard 2. Meanwhile, $860 million will go for upgrades to current LAV (wheeled armored vehicles), mainly those serving in Afghanistan, so they can better deal with roadside bombs. This will include new electronics. These upgrades will also keep these vehicles in service for another 25 years. Nevertheless, some of the new vehicles to be purchased, will be more modern versions of the current LAV.