LAV III

Light Armoured Vehicle III
A New Zealand Army LAV III in Afghanistan
Type	Armored personnel carrier
Place of origin	Canada
Service history
Used by	See Operators
Wars	See Service history
Production history
Developed from	Mowag Piranha IIIH
Developed into	Stryker NZLAV LAV 6.0 LAV 700 Desert Viper
Specifications
Mass	16.95 t
Length	6.98 m (22 ft 11 in)
Width	2.7 m (8 ft 10 in)
Height	2.8 m (9 ft 2 in)
Crew	3 (+ 6 or 7 passengers)
Main armament	1 × M242 25 mm chain gun with TIS
Secondary armament	1 × C6 7.62 mm machine gun (coaxial) 1 × C9A2 5.56 mm or C6 7.62 mm machine gun (pintle mount)
Engine	Caterpillar 3126 diesel 260 kW (350 hp)
Suspension	Hydropneumatic
Operational range	450 km (280 mi)
Maximum speed	100 km/h (62 mph)

The LAV III is the third generation of the Light Armoured Vehicle (LAV) family of armored personnel carriers built by General Dynamics Land Systems – Canada (GDLS-C), a London, Ontario, based subsidiary of General Dynamics. It first entered service in 1999, succeeding the LAV II.^[1][2][3] It is the primary mechanized infantry vehicle of both the Canadian Army and the New Zealand Army.^[1] It also forms the basis of the Stryker vehicle used by the U.S. Army and other operators. The Canadian Army is upgrading its LAV IIIs to the LAV 6 standard. Early in its development history it was referred to as the 'Kodiak', but the name was never officially adopted.^[4]