| a | |||
|
|
|||
|
Defence & Security Industry News - GDLS Canada
|
|||
|
|
|||
| General Dynamics delivers two first LAV-II Cayman armored vehicles to Peruvian Naval Infantry | |||
|
General Dynamics Land Systems Canada unveiled yesterday the two first LAV-II "Cayman" 8x8 armored vehicles of the 32 ordered in mid-2014 by the Peruvian Armed Forces. Speaking at the unveiling ceremony in London, Ontario, Commandant of the Peruvian Navy, Admiral Edmundo Deville del Campo said the Cayman will be used to patrol the coast, as well as lakes and rivers, as the Peruvian Marines prepare for expansion next year. “They will be really, really, well used,” Admiral Deville del Campo said.
|
|||
|
|
|||
 One of the two first LAV-II Cayman armored vehicles delivered to the Peruvian Naval Infantry |
|||
|
|
|||
| The vehicles have been designed especially to Peruvian specifications: they are low-maintenance and lightweight so they can move and manoeuvre quickly in Peru’s varied and difficult terrain. They are also amphibious, so able to carry personnel from ship to shore, and come equipped with a 50-calibre gun. The contract will see 32 vehicles delivered plus logistical support package. GLDS was awarded the US$ 55 million contract only last year by the Peruvian Ministry of Defence via the Government of Canada. The Marines have named their new LAV-II the Cayman in honour of Special Forces who fought the Shining Path in the 1980s. In recent years, the Marines have received training from their counterparts in the United States—veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan. They are still put in action against the Shining Path, who, although not the danger they once were, now partner with drug cartels. Peru recently eclipsed Colombia as the world’s biggest source of cocaine. “Your vehicles will honour the name and memory of good people,” Admiral Deville del Campo told GLDS. Two Caymans will join a national parade in Lima in July. |
|||
