Canadian military set to cancel $2-billion order for armoured vehicles

OTTAWA, Ont. – The Canadian Army is cancelling a $2-billion order for new armoured vehicles, after another lengthy, troubled procurement went wrong.

Sources tell The Canadian Press that military officials are set to announce the cancellation of an order for 108 close-combat vehicles on Friday.

Bids by three defence contractors – Nexter, BAE Systems Inc. and General Dynamics Land Systems Inc. – had been set to expire this coming Monday, and the military has decided not to pick a winner.

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The program has been hanging in the balance for months after the army signalled it was worried whether it could afford to train, operate and maintain the new set of vehicles in a time of tight budgets.

Having yet another major military purchase go down the drain could be a political black eye for the Conservatives, who’ve struggled to deliver on an extensive list of military equipment.

In addition to the armoured vehicles, National Defence and Public Works in the summer of 2012 cancelled and subsequently restarted a program to buy 1,500 logistics trucks for the military.