Canadian Special Operations Regiment to get new recce vehicles

Global News reports that the British-designed Supacat Jackal will be replacing the Humvees that are currently used by Canada's special forces units.

Canada’s special forces units will be getting new vehicles as early as next year.

Sixty special reconnaissance vehicles will be bought and housed at Canadian Forces Base Petawawa to support special forces units there, in Ottawa and in Trenton, Ont.

The new vehicles are being located with the Canadian Special Operations Regiment in Petawawa, which would also provide maintenance support as well as drivers. The high-mobility trucks will be available to various units such as the Ottawa-based Joint Task Force 2 or to special forces task groups.

“The regiment will own that capability and I will allot that capability to the (special operations) task forces,” explained Brig.-Gen. Mike Day, head of the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command (CANSOFCOM) in Ottawa. “If the task force needs it, the regiment will provide the capability, not just the vehicles. They are going to be masters of that platform.”

Canadian special forces use Humvees in Afghanistan. Day said the Humvees will be usable until the end of the Afghan mission in the summer of next year.

The new vehicles will likely be a version of the British-designed Supacat Jackal. That vehicle is being built by Lockheed Martin in the U.S. and being marketed to Canadian and U.S. militaries.

By: Shelldrake