Trumpeter 01519 LAV-III 8x8 wheeled armoured vehicle

The LAV III Kodiak is a contemporary Canadian wheeled infantry fighting vehicle. The first copies of this car entered service in 1999. The drive is provided by a single motor Caterpillar 3126 with 355 HP . The cart is 6.93 meters long and 2.66 meters wide. The curb weight of the vehicle is 16.95 tons. The armament consists of a single 25mm M242 cannon and two 5.56mm and 7.62mm machine guns.

The LAV III Kodiak was developed to replace and standardize various types of armored vehicles used by the Canadian army, from the 1960s and 1970s, such as the M113, Lynx, Grizzly or Bison. In order to shorten the work on the new car and reduce costs, it was decided to adapt the Piranha III 8x8 by the Swiss company Mowag to Canadian needs. Compared to its predecessors, but also to previous generations of the Piranha, the Kodiak LAV III provides a better level of ballistic protection, which can be further improved by installing additional armor. The vehicle also has a much better resistance to a mine explosion or the so-called fugasa. In the course of production, several development versions of this vehicle were created, including: LAV III ISC (classic armored personnel carrier), LAV III CPV (command vehicle) or LAV III TUA (self-propelled anti-tank rocket launcher TOW). Vehicles of this type are in service with the Canadian, New Zealand and Colombian armies. It is worth adding that the LAV III Kodiak became the basis for the development of the Stryker family of vehicles.