AVGP

AVGP
A surplus Cougar seen in a militaria event in the UK.
Type	Armoured fighting vehicle
Place of origin	Canada
Service history
In service	1976–present
Used by	See Operators
Production history
Developed from	Mowag Piranha I
No. built	Cougar – 195[1] Grizzly – 274[1] Husky – 27[1][2]
Variants	See Variants
Specifications
Mass	10.7 t
Length	5.97 m
Width	2.50 m
Crew	Cougar: 3 (Commander, gunner and driver, 2 soldiers in rear of vehicle) Husky: 2 (Driver and technician) Grizzly: Commander, gunner and driver, 6 soldiers in rear
Main armament	Cougar: 76 mm L23A1 gun (fires HE, HESH, Smoke BE (base ejected), and Canister rounds)[3] Grizzly: 12.7mm heavy machine gun and a 7.62 mm machine-gun (C6) and 66 mm smoke grenade launchers (2 clusters of 4 launchers)[1] Husky: 7.62 mm machine gun (C6) and 66 mm smoke grenade launchers (2 clusters of 4 launchers)[2]
Secondary armament	Cougar: 7.62 mm machine gun (C5A1) and 66 mm smoke grenade launchers No 12 (2 clusters of 4 launchers)[3]
Engine	275 hp Detroit Diesel 6V53T two-cycle turbo-charged diesel
Suspension	6×6
Maximum speed	100 km/h

The AVGP (Armoured Vehicle General Purpose), later known as the LAV I,^[4] is a series of three amphibious 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 Motors Diesel (later General Dynamics Land Systems – Canada).^[5]

The AVGP program led to the development of the 8×8 LAV II, variants of which were adopted as direct replacements for the AVGP. These were the Bison and Coyote Reconnaissance Vehicle, which replaced the Grizzly^[6] and Cougar respectively.

The Canadian Army retired all AVGP variants beginning in 2005; however, a number of the retired vehicles were transferred to other militaries and police forces, where they continue in use.^[7][8]