AFV (armoured fighting vehicle)

AFV stands for armoured fighting vehicle: a protected military vehicle intended for combat operations. NATO-related material writes the term as "Armored Fighting Vehicle (AFV)" and uses it in the same way allied forces do, as a standard abbreviation in military communication. The NATO ACT Public Affairs Handbook expands the abbreviation in exactly this form.

The same handbook separates an AFV from two other vehicle types. It describes an AFV as neither a tank nor an armoured personnel carrier, but a hybrid developed so that infantry can keep up with tanks. In plain terms, an AFV carries infantry and operates in conjunction with armour.

How NATO material defines an AFV

The NATO-related description is short and functional. An AFV sits between a heavily armed tank and a vehicle that only transports troops. Its role is to move infantry across the battlefield alongside tanks, rather than behind them.

NATO also maintains NATOTerm, its database of non-classified military terminology and other terminology relevant to the Alliance. Suppliers who work with allied customers can use it as the reference point for NATO vocabulary.

AFV and the vehicle names Canada uses

Canadian government pages rarely use the bare term AFV. They use specific project and platform names instead, and these are not interchangeable with AFV:

• ACSV (Armoured Combat Support Vehicle): a specific Canadian vehicle project and designation, led by National Defence. It is not a general definition of AFV. See the National Defence ACSV page.
• LAV (Light Armoured Vehicle): the family that includes the LAV 6.0, the platform on which Canada's ACSVs are based.
• CCV (Close Combat Vehicle): a Canadian Army project for a medium-weight armoured vehicle.

Canada's land equipment procurement portfolio covers close-combat vehicles, armoured combat support vehicles, light armoured vehicles and other ground combat equipment. Government material also refers to ground transport, wheeled combat vehicles and main battle tanks within land-defence procurement.

The ACSV contract as Canada's clearest armoured vehicle buy

The most visible recent Canadian armoured vehicle purchase is the ACSV program. Canada awarded a contract to General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada for 360 vehicles, as set out in the 2020-21 Main Estimates procurement notes.

Public Services and Procurement Canada awarded the contract, valued at approximately $2 billion, on behalf of National Defence. According to the PSPC defence and marine procurement accomplishments note, it included the vehicles, initial spare parts, technical manuals and training.

The ACSV fleet provides ambulances, mobile repair and recovery vehicles, engineer-support vehicles and command posts, supporting command and control for domestic and international operations. The vehicles are based on the LAV 6.0 and are intended to replace the Tracked Light Armoured Vehicle and LAV II Bison fleets, as described in the 2023-24 Supplementary Estimates (B) background notes.

What an AFV reference means for a supplier

If you bid on a Canadian defence solicitation that uses AFV, ACSV, LAV or similar terms, the solicitation document is the definition that counts. Read the technical requirements, statement of work and configuration requirements closely, along with deliverables such as manuals and training, in-service support, and any Canadian industrial or economic requirements.

The ACSV contract shows the scope that a major armoured vehicle buy can carry: vehicles, spare parts, documentation and training together. Bid teams should price and plan for the whole package. Opportunities are published on CanadaBuys, where you can match the exact vehicle terminology in each notice before deciding whether to respond.