Canada is sending the initial four of 50 Armored Combat Support Vehicles (ACSVs) to Ukraine in support of its defense against Russia.
Developed by General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS), the fleet is part of a pledge announced by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in 2023 on top of investments in “high-priority” air defense capabilities.
Ottawa wrote that the first of the 650-million Canadian dollar ($472.8 million) ACSV donation would be utilized to train Ukrainian troops in wounded personnel evacuation operations this summer.
Ten of the vehicles will be supplied in the ambulance variant.
Work for Ukraine’s future ACSVs is ongoing at the GDLS facility in London, Ontario.
Further deliveries are estimated to continue over three years.
“General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada is proud to support Canada’s Armoured Combat Support Vehicles donation to Ukraine,” GDLS Canada VP and General Manager Jason Alejandro Monahan said.
“General Dynamics has produced light armoured vehicles for Canada and its allies for over 47 years. These London-made vehicles sustain a cross-Canada supply chain of over 600 suppliers, and support thousands of well-paying middle class Canadian jobs.”
Training With Operation Unifier
Canada’s latest vehicle donation marks the country’s second batch of ACSVs supplied to Ukraine since Moscow invaded the country in 2022.
To date, the Ukrainian government has received 39 ACVs from Canada.
The delivery included training from over 300 Canadian Armed Forces servicemen under Operation Unifier, Ottawa’s commitment to upskill Ukrainian troops through 2026.
In 2022, Operation Unifier deployed approximately 225 Canadian Army soldiers to join their British, Dutch, and New Zealander counterparts in preparing Ukrainian personnel.
Another 40 Canadian combat engineers were sent to Poland to train Ukrainian sappers on explosives, mining, reconnaissance, and associated countermeasures.
Since its launch, Operation Unifier has trained over 41,000 Ukrainian Armed Forces members.
Canadian ACSV Program Ongoing
Alongside the Ukrainian military aid, Ottawa is engaged with GDLS in an approximately 2-billion Canadian dollar ($1.45 billion) program to supply the Canadian Army with its own ACSV fleet.
Up to 360 ACSVs were ordered by the government in 2019. These vehicles will come in troop/cargo, ambulance, electronic warfare, engineer, command post, maintenance and recovery, and mobile repair team variants.
The systems will replace the army’s aging M113 Tracked Light Armoured Vehicle and Light Armored Vehicle II (Bison) fleets.
Canada officially accepted the first unit under the ACSV program in October 2023. Delivery will continue until 2025.