**Canadian Army's $1 Billion Vehicle Procurement Faces Challenges** A Canadian Army procurement project, valued at up to $1 billion, is encountering serious technical issues that may lead to its cancellation. The initiative, aimed at developing the Light Armoured Vehicle Reconnaissance Surveillance System (LRSS), has been in progress for over a decade. Defence industry sources have indicated that the challenges facing the new vehicle fleet could be insurmountable. The Department of National Defence (DND) has not confirmed whether the LRSS project will be scrapped but acknowledged the existence of significant problems. Cheryl Forrest, a DND spokeswoman, stated that reliability testing on the LRSS vehicles took place between November 2023 and April 2024, and again from March 2025 to May 2025. She noted that these tests “demonstrated serious technical problems.” Discussions are ongoing between Canada and General Dynamics Land Systems – Canada (GDLS-C) regarding the best path forward. GDLS-C has refrained from commenting on contract specifics, directing inquiries to the federal government. The LRSS project aims to replace the Canadian Army's fleet of 141 Coyote surveillance vehicles with 66 advanced surveillance systems integrated onto the new Light Armoured Vehicle 6.0 platform. The LRSS vehicles are designed with advanced sensor suites, including high-definition electro-optic sensors, lasers, inertial navigation, and new ground surveillance radar. These features are intended to enable real-time imagery collection and sharing on the battlefield, as well as provide long-range surveillance capabilities in various weather conditions. Forrest mentioned that the specifics of the technical problems cannot be disclosed due to ongoing contractual negotiations. During an April 2025 briefing, Canadian Army officials described the project as having “high technical risk.” The estimated cost of the project ranges from $500 million to $1 billion. In 2023, Army officers informed defence industry representatives that “multiple deficiencies remain unaddressed and unquantified” in the LRSS project. The contract for the LRSS was awarded solely to GDLS-C, a subsidiary of a major U.S. defence firm. The first vehicles were expected to be delivered by December 2016, but that timeline was delayed by seven years. In 2023, DND announced that the first five LRSS vehicles had been delivered to a military base in Quebec. The need for the LRSS was identified by the military in 2009, with an initial goal of having the vehicles operational by 2012. The contract was awarded to GDLS-C in November 2014. This procurement issue arises as the Liberal government plans to significantly increase the defence budget and acquire new military equipment. Secretary of State for Defence Procurement Stephen Fuhr has expressed a willingness to accept more risks to expedite equipment delivery. He stated, "You introduce risks when you go fast. I’m okay with that because I’m going to be focused on this 100 percent of my time." However, critics have raised concerns about the lack of oversight and accountability within DND and Public Services and Procurement Canada regarding defence equipment purchases. They argue that both departments are overly secretive about public spending.