Coyote Reconnaissance Vehicle

The Coyote Reconnaissance Vehicle is a non-amphibious armoured reconnaissance vehicle based on the design of the LAV-25 and the MOWAG Piranha II. The Canadian Forces ordered 203 of the vehicles in 1993 to replace the Lynx reconnaissance vehicle, and all were delivered and entered service by 1996.[5][6][7] The Coyote originally came in three variants: the "Mast" variant with a mast-mounted surveillance system, a variant with a remote surveillance suite, and a basic reconnaissance/command post variant.[5][8][9]

The Coyotes mount a 25×137mm M242 Bushmaster chain gun and two 7.62×51mm NATO C6 general purpose machine guns in an electrically-driven turret. The turret also features a laser-warning receiver, and mounts a total of eight grenade launchers in two clusters capable of firing smoke and fragmentation grenades.[10] One of the machine guns is mounted coaxial to the main gun while the other is pintle-mounted in front of the crew commander's hatch.[11] The main gun is equipped with dual ammunition feeds that allow for separate weapons effects, selectable by the gunner/crew commander; the standard load is a belt of armour-piercing sabot rounds and a belt of HE-T explosive/fragmentation rounds. The main gun and coax machine gun are 2-axis stabilized. The turret is equipped with a laser rangefinder, but no ballistic computer; elevation and lead corrections are applied manually by the gunner using multi-stadia reticules in the day, thermal, and image intensification sights.

The standard armour of the Coyote protects against small arms fire, anti-personnel mines, and shrapnel, with add-on armour kits able to protect against larger projectiles.[12] The Coyote is equipped with an NBC detector suite consisting of a GID-3 chemical detector and an AN/VDR-2 radiation monitor. Each vehicle is also equipped with an NBC ventilated respirator system.[13]

The mast-mounted surveillance variants are equipped with a mast-mounted surveillance system that can be raised to 10 meters above the ground.[14] This system includes the AN/PPS-5C MSTAR Version 3 surface surveillance radar and an electro-optical/infrared surveillance system with a long-range video camera and laser rangefinder.[15] The remote surveillance variant consists of two tripod-mounted systems capable of being deployed up to 200 meters away from the vehicle. The surveillance systems can detect tank-sized targets at up to 12 kilometres away, and large truck-sized targets at up to 24 kilometres. In good conditions the visual surveillance system can detect personnel up to 20 kilometres away.[16]

The Coyote is powered by a Detroit Diesel 6V53T engine developing 275 horsepower (205 kW), and can reach speeds of 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph) on road. The Coyote has a maximum road range of 660 kilometres (410 mi). Each vehicle is equipped with a tactical navigation system that includes a GPS receiver, a digital compass system, and a backup dead-reckoning system. A 15-tonne capacity hydraulic winch is also fitted to every vehicle to aid in self-recovery.[17] Unlike the LAV-25, the Coyote is equipped with extra fuel tanks in place of amphibious equipment.[18] The Coyote is air-transportable on Hercules C-130 aircraft but only with the turret removed first.[19]

Coyote from the 12^e Régiment blindé du Canada

Coyotes come in three variants: Command, Mast, and Remote. The Mast and Remote variants have a sophisticated suite of electronic surveillance equipment including radar, video, and infrared surveillance night vision devices. The mast variant has this equipment mounted on a 10-metre telescoping mast that can be extended to raise the surveillance suite out from behind cover. The remote variant of the Coyote has its surveillance suite mounted on two short tripods, which crew can deploy remotely using a 200-metre spool of cable.

When first purchased, the Coyote was designated for service with both the Regular Force and Reserve Force, with the Mast variants earmarked for the Regular units and the Remotes designated for the Reserves. Shortly after taking delivery of the vehicles, but before they were assigned to the Reserve units, all Coyotes were reassigned to the Regular Force.