Tactical Armoured Patrol Vehicle (TAPV)

This web site has been established to provide information related to the Tactical Armoured Patrol Vehicle (TAPV) project. The site contains background information, reference documentation, and project contacts.

TAPV is a component of the Land Forces Combat Vehicle program which is focused on the renewal of the Army's core equipment platforms as stated in the Canada First Defence Strategy. The TAPV project will deliver a wheeled combat vehicle that will fulfill a wide variety of roles domestically and on the battlefield, including but not limited to reconnaissance and surveillance, security, command and control, cargo, and armoured personnel carrier. It will have a high degree of tactical mobility and provide a very high degree of survivability to its crew.

TAPV Background

The mission of the Army is to generate and maintain combat-capable, multi-purpose land forces to meet Canada's defence objectives. Multi-purpose forces provide full spectrum capability, derived from a combination of integral complementary capabilities as well as the full integration of joint and coalition assets. Army capability is based on a range of leading edge technologies that provide lethality, deployability, mobility, agility survivability, and modularity. Analysis of the future security environment has led the Army to optimize its concepts, structures, equipment and training for adaptive dispersed operations, in a context of counter-insurgency operations, with the capacity to address all aspects of full spectrum operations. Lighter elements must exploit technology to achieve a high level of survivability and enhance responsiveness, deployability and mobility while potentially trading off a measure of protection and lethality compared to heavier systems.

A number of critical deficiencies have been identified within the current fleet of soft-skinned and older light armoured vehicles which are no longer capable of meeting today's and future requirements for mobility, ergonomics, information and intelligence sharing, and the ability to deliver integrated lethal and non-lethal effects. In addition, they fail to provide an adequate level of protection against current and emerging threats. While some success has been realized through extensive protection enhancements in mitigating the various threats, the vehicles have now reached their certified gross vehicle weight limits and therefore their potential for further upgrades. All these fleets are now either approaching or at their limits of viable economic and technical upgrade.

The TAPV 1b5d is intended to overcome the aforementioned deficiencies in capabilities as well as fulfill future operational concept requirements. Changes in recent years to the threats facing the CF on operations have led to an increased attention on protection.