by Ken Pole
After several years of industry engagement, the Army will soon have a heavy wrecker on the battlefield. In November, the Canadian government signed two contracts with Rheinmetall Canada to supply Enhanced Recovery Capability (ERC). Four months later, that process is well underway, the company and the Directorate of Land Requirements (DLR) explained in separate interviews with Canadian Army Today.
“There’s always a kickoff a few weeks after contract award, and then a bunch of deliverables in terms of management plans, system engineering plans, quality plans, and so on,” said Mathieu Voghel, vice-president of Programs at Rheinmetall Canada, a division of Rheinmetall AG. “We expect to have all vehicles delivered within the next four years.”
The core contract, valued at $422 million, is for 100 vehicles—85 under the initial deal plus 15 that were exercised as part of an option. It also includes 24 armoured protection kits. The second contract, worth $30.4 million, is for in-service support: repair and overhaul, spares replenishment and integrated logistics services for an initial eight years, with an optional extension of up to 16 additional years.
“And yes, training is part of the acquisition,” said Major Andrew MacLean, the ERC project director within DLR.
The need to replace the current but aging fleet of Heavy Logistic Vehicle Wheeled (HLVW) trucks was formally identified in 2014, following their use during Canada’s 2001-2014 combat mission in Afghanistan.
MacLean, a member of the Corps of Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers who assumed the project lead in 2023, expects first delivery of the new platforms in 2027 and full operational capability later the following year.
The fleet will be fielded in accordance with the Army’s Managed Readiness Plan, he explained. Priority likely will be given to the units preparing to deploy to Latvia at that time, “so they will have the equipment ready” when they arrive.
Before that, however, comes the “down and dirty” aspect of the ERC project—user trials over several seasons at various locations across the Army.
“That’ll be when the community gets its hands on [the vehicles] and provides feedback before they go into full production,” said MacLean. “Essentially, the intent is to test the vehicle, both driving and recovery tasks in various operational conditions and climates.”
The acquisition of the new “wreckers” is potentially streamlined by the fact that they are based on the HX truck designed by Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles, a joint venture based in Munich, Germany. The consortium has a global track record with more than 15,000 versions in service worldwide.
“The recovery variant is fielded with several armies: Australia, New Zealand, and some others,” Voghel, a systems design engineer, said from Rheinmetall Canada in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que. While there will be some specific Canadian requirements, “it’s based on some of our systems in Denmark, Norway, Australia, and so on.”
Asked how the rotator-equipped 8x8s will be “Canadianized,” he said Canada’s increased use of containers for moving materiel at home and abroad was a key requirement. Rheinmetall could have supplied a five-axle 10×10 with greater pulling and load capacity, but that evidently was discounted early as the project requirements were being developed.
The increased weight of new platforms was also a key consideration. The Armoured Combat Support Vehicles (ACSV) that are being delivered in eight variants— Troop Cargo, Command Post, Ambulance, Engineer, Electronic Warfare, Maintenance Recovery, Mobile Repair Team, and Fitter/Cargo—though based on the current Light Armoured Vehicle (LAV) 6.0, weigh about 10,000 pounds more.
“Canada gave us a matrix of vehicles they want the ERC to recover,” Voghel said. The ACSV tips the scales at 20.64 tonnes but dressing it up for a combat deployment balloons that to nearly 28.58 tonnes.
“It was really a matter of understanding the needs,” he said. “It’s definitely capable of recovering ACSVs and, I would say, the ERC itself (about 40 tonnes) will obviously be able to recover another ERC.”
And what about the Leopard 2A4M tank, which tops 55 tonnes? “As far as I know, there is no need or plan [for an ERC] to recover a main battle tank,” he replied. “Rheinmetall did provide Armoured Recovery Vehicles for that several years ago.”
With enhancements to vehicles a continuous part of the sustainment process, Voghel noted there is a “user nation group for HX customers, and Recovery Variant is one of the platforms that’s being discussed. We hope that Canada will join the group so that they can benefit from improvements, configuration changes, and so on. Normally, nations really like to know how other nations use a similar product and how they can benefit from their experience.”
