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Canadian Forces — Multi-Purpose Engineering Vehicle (MPEV) |
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Update: It was reported that a single MPEV backhoe was deployed to Haiti aboard a CC-130
Hercules to back up DART with OP Hestia.
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Arva's Multi-Purpose Engineering Vehicle
Canadian combat engineers tested a modern high mobility engineering vehicle (an HMEV borrowed from Australia ) in
East Timor. The concept – a backhoe / front-end loader with optional armour protection and road
speeds high enough to keep pace with LAV IIIs on the move – was given a domestic expression in
the MPEV from Ontario's Arva Industries.
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Mobility – " ... It's in the way he moves..."
DND's MPEV requirement sprang from its realization that then-current CF excavators (eg: Case 590 ) were
incapable of anything like doctrine-dictated mobility needs and also at the end of their
"life expectancies". By contrast, MPEV can hit a top speed of 100 km/h making self-deploying alongside LAVs quite
feasible. An MPEV is also air- transportable in the CF's CC-130 Hercules. |
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Arva (Model 744RBL)
MPEV Specifications
| Crew: |
1 driver / equipment operator |
| Size: |
L x 8.41m [2], W x 2.9m, H x 3.5m |
| Weight: |
10,300kg (front and rear buckets) |
Powerplant:
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5.9 L 160 kW Cummins 6BTA
Funk
2000 6-speed transmission |
Capability:
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Front bucket: 1.0 m3, lift: 3,000 kg,
Rear
bucket: 0.34 m3, lift: 1,000kg |
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Getting into Service — Requirements, Contracts, and Delivery Schedules
To accelerate the MPEV service entry, DND changed its acquisition process. [3] Arva's winning bid was accepted
in Nov 2002, the prototype MPEV being completed in Oct 2003. After requested modifications were incorporated into the
design, the first CF MPEV was delivered in March 2004. Total orders for the MPEV were 28 vehicles by
2007. Combat Engineer and Engineer Support Regiments field the MPEV – Field Engineer and Engineer Support
squadrons each receiving four MPEVs. In 2006, the first MPEVs deployed to Afghani- stan with 4 ESR.
There the MPEVs quietly go about their business as part of the Heavy Equipment Troops (HETs) often deployed to help
construct FOBs.
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[1] The cab is reinforced to provide a turn-over structure and mounting points for the armour kit and the rear
lifting eyes. The position of these eyes obviating the need for spreader bars on lifting cables. The cab is roughly
octagonal giving operators a 360° view of their work.
[2] Travelling length, with backhoe extended in a lower aircraft loading position, the overall length becomes
10.77 m. Wheelbase is 3.15 m.
[3] This was the expansion of DND's Long Term Standing Offer (LTSO) ordering approach to include "complex
vehicles". This represents a reversal of fortune for Arva Industries whose president, Fred Smith, had been
previously quoted saying "We've built a lot of equipment for the Department ... in the past, but ... [ at
that time, DND ] ... adopted polices that have virtually cut off supplies from small businesses."
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For rail/sea shipment, lifting eyes are built in. [1] An MPEV front loader can mount a bucket, forks, or lifting
beam. The back hoe (4.3m digging depth) mounts a bucket, a range of implements (including a power auger, at right)
or can act as
a crane (with a 1,500 kg lifting capacity). The hoe has a reach of 5.5 m from the pivot. MPEVs also
have remotely-controlled winches with 4,000 kg line-pull.
