Cougar Light Assault Vehicle
After the mild success of the four-wheeled Piranha scout car, the MOWAG company of Switzerland decided to expand the vehicle to a six-wheeled version in 1972. Though still named the Piranha, this was practically a new vehicle. It had the same general hull design and was amphibious, but the new Piranha was much larger, could carry more passengers and cargo, and was equipped with a larger turret, capable of carrying a 25mm autocannon. This version of the Piranha was far more popular, and attracted a number of foreign military sales. MOWAG would later expand the design still further into an eight-wheeled vehicle, which would become the basis for the US Marine Corps' LAV-25.
Canada was looking for a replacement for the various light armored cars in its inventory, some of which dated back to World War II. It also needed a supplement for the M113, which could be limited by certain types of terrain. With these requirements in mind, the Canadian Army bought the six-wheeled MOWAG Piranha in 1976, to be built and modified in Canada. The intention was to use the Piranhas mainly as scouts and light infantry personnel carriers for Canadian forces in Central Europe, but Canada's frequent involvement in United Nations peacekeeping units led to the vehicles seeing most of their service overseas, in places like Cyprus, the Sinai, Africa, and former Yugoslavia in "blue helmet" operations.
Designated Armored Vehicle General Purpose (AVGP) by the Canadian Army, this rather generic title was changed to Cougar and Grizzly, depending on the variant. The Cougar was intended for the scout role, and carried a modified FV-101 Scorpion light tank turret, equipped with a 76mm antitank gun. The Grizzly, used for infantry transport, used a smaller turret with two machine guns. A third variant, the Husky, was used as a mobile repair vehicle for Cougars and Grizzlies.
All three versions saw extensive service for the next 30 years, but the increasing lethality of even low-intensity conflict, and their age, led to Canada's retirement of the Cougar/Grizzly series around 2005. Most were donated to African Union peacekeeper units and Uruguay, though a few were demilitarized and subsequently used by Canadian police forces.
This Cougar, on display in front of Calgary's Military Museums, is a former King's Own Calgary Regiment (RCAC) vehicle. It is a veteran of peacekeeping operations in Bosnia, and was donated to the Military Museums in 2006. It is displayed in an overall dark green scheme, though many of the RCAC's Cougars wore a camouflage pattern similar to that of British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) units assigned to Germany in the 1980s.
Cougar Light Assault Vehicle
After the mild success of the four-wheeled Piranha scout car, the MOWAG company of Switzerland decided to expand the vehicle to a six-wheeled version in 1972. Though still named the Piranha, this was practically a new vehicle. It had the same general hull design and was amphibious, but the new Piranha was much larger, could carry more passengers and cargo, and was equipped with a larger turret, capable of carrying a 25mm autocannon. This version of the Piranha was far more popular, and attracted a number of foreign military sales. MOWAG would later expand the design still further into an eight-wheeled vehicle, which would become the basis for the US Marine Corps' LAV-25.
Canada was looking for a replacement for the various light armored cars in its inventory, some of which dated back to World War II. It also needed a supplement for the M113, which could be limited by certain types of terrain. With these requirements in mind, the Canadian Army bought the six-wheeled MOWAG Piranha in 1976, to be built and modified in Canada. The intention was to use the Piranhas mainly as scouts and light infantry personnel carriers for Canadian forces in Central Europe, but Canada's frequent involvement in United Nations peacekeeping units led to the vehicles seeing most of their service overseas, in places like Cyprus, the Sinai, Africa, and former Yugoslavia in "blue helmet" operations.
Designated Armored Vehicle General Purpose (AVGP) by the Canadian Army, this rather generic title was changed to Cougar and Grizzly, depending on the variant. The Cougar was intended for the scout role, and carried a modified FV-101 Scorpion light tank turret, equipped with a 76mm antitank gun. The Grizzly, used for infantry transport, used a smaller turret with two machine guns. A third variant, the Husky, was used as a mobile repair vehicle for Cougars and Grizzlies.
All three versions saw extensive service for the next 30 years, but the increasing lethality of even low-intensity conflict, and their age, led to Canada's retirement of the Cougar/Grizzly series around 2005. Most were donated to African Union peacekeeper units and Uruguay, though a few were demilitarized and subsequently used by Canadian police forces.
This Cougar, on display in front of Calgary's Military Museums, is a former King's Own Calgary Regiment (RCAC) vehicle. It is a veteran of peacekeeping operations in Bosnia, and was donated to the Military Museums in 2006. It is displayed in an overall dark green scheme, though many of the RCAC's Cougars wore a camouflage pattern similar to that of British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) units assigned to Germany in the 1980s.