page_title: AVGP
section_title: Canada
hierarchical_section_title: AVGP / History / Canada
caption_attribution_description: A right rear view of a Canadian army COUGAR wheeled fire support vehicle that is being used as an observation post by soldiers standing watch during the combined U.S./Canadian NATO Exercise Rendezvous '83. Location: CAMP WAINWRIGHT, ALBERTA (AB)
context_page_description: The AVGP, later known as the LAV I, is a series of three armoured fighting vehicles ordered by the Canadian military in the 1970s. The vehicles, named Grizzly, Cougar and Husky respectively, were based on the six-wheeled version of the Swiss MOWAG Piranha I, and became the first generation Light Armoured Vehicle produced by General Dynamics Land Systems - Canada.
  The Canadian Army retired all AVGP variants beginning in 2005; however, a number of the retired vehicles were transferred to other military's and police forces, where they continue to serve.
  The AVGP had propellers and trim vanes for amphibious use, like the eight-wheeled Bison, which was the vehicle family's immediate successor. The Canadian Army's LAV III, the United States Marine Corps' LAV-25, and the US Army's Stryker are other variants of the LAV family and directly evolved from the Canadian designs.
context_section_description: The AVGP variants were introduced into Canadian service in the late 1970s. Intended for use only in Canada, they were pressed into service for several United Nations missions, including UNPROFOR and the mission to Somalia. One Grizzly was captured by Serb forces in the late 1990s, despite it being present on a peace keeping mission.
  The Cougar was used for training in Canada as a reconnaissance vehicle. During the 1980s and 1990s, it was used by armoured units as a fire support vehicle, for those units not equipped with the Leopard tank. The squadrons equipped with the Cougar in those regiments were humorously referred to as the "boat squadron" as opposed to the reconnaissance squadrons, which were equipped with the Lynx, and later the Coyote (another AVGP successor).
  The Grizzly was used as an armoured personnel carrier in regular force infantry battalions not equipped with the M113 APC, and also by reserve units. The majority of vehicles had their marine propulsion systems removed. Under the Wheeled LAV Life Extension project, the Canadian Forces planned to convert Grizzly and Husky vehicles to support variants, such as Command Post and Mobile Repair Team Vehicle. However, the project was cancelled in 2005, and the vehicles retired.
  In May 2007, the Edmonton Police Service accepted the donation of a disarmed Grizzly from the Canadian Army.
  In March 2010, the Canadian Army donated two disarmed Cougar AVGPs to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in British Columbia for use by the Emergency Response Team. They were retrofitted to transport ERT assault teams into hazardous areas where transport in unarmoured vehicles would not be safe.
  In April 2014, the department of National Defence donated a Cougar AVGP to the Windsor Police Service in Windsor, Ontario.
caption: Cougar
exif: {}