New Canadian LAV III APC purchased by Colombia will be deployed on the border with Venezuela 2901151

Defence & Security News - Colombia
 
 
New Canadian LAV III APC purchased by Colombia will be deployed on the border with Venezuela
Colombia has announced the purchase of 32 new LAV III 8x8 armored combat vehicles to be deployed on the border with Venezuela. Military authorities have specified that the new tactical units will be used to combat illegal armed groups in the frontier zone, described by Spanish newspaper El País as “one of the seven hells on Earth.”
     
Colombia has announced the purchase of 32 new LAV III 8x8 armored combat vehicles to be deployed on the border with Venezuela. Military authorities have specified that the new tactical units will be used to combat illegal armed groups in the frontier zone, described by Spanish newspaper El País as “one of the seven hells on Earth.” LAV III APC 8x8 armoured vehicle personnel carrier
     
“Today, the Colombian armed forces are stronger, more modern, and more capable of confronting the threats of the present and the near future,” said Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzón in a press release on January 22.

The LAV III was designed to respond to a need for greater payload and protection levels. Since being introduced, the LAV III fleet has been sold to various customers in a wide range of variants. Canada purchased a complement of six variants totaling 651 vehicles between 1997-2006.

The common platform of the LAV III was the base for a combination of infantry section carriers, command post, forward observation officer vehicles, engineer, tow-under armour and remote-weapon systems. The vehicle has been deployed for operations in the Balkans, Africa, Haiti, and was most recently the vehicle of choice among soldiers in Afghanistan.

The new LAV III 8x8 APC will form part of a wider process of modernization and transformation of the country’s armed forces, which haven’t purchased similar equipment in 30 years.

The LAV III will go to the Colombian Army Combined Medium Arms Task Force, an army unit based in the town of Distracción, Guajira department, on the border with Venezuela. Each of the new vehicles is capable of transporting 11 fully armed and equipped soldiers, comes with a digital remote control system to activate its weaponry from the interior, and possesses sophisticated anti-mine and explosion-absorption technology.