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Background
— Assessing the G-wagon and its Armour Protection |
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The add-on armour protection system (APS) kits consist of individual panels
of composite armour which are
attached to the floorboards, firewall, and outer body panels. Laminated armour glass protects the windows. The CF has
only 170 APS kits (available for about 14% of the G-wagon fleet) but this was seen as adequate for the
number of vehicles deployed. The APS has its downsides. Early on, the panels’ extra weight caused
floorboard cracks from “expansion and compression”. With that problem fixed, the
G-wagon suspension mounts began to suffer from overloading (and the appalling Afghan
road conditions).
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Rating the G-wagons and the ‘Armour Protection System’ Kits
When the G-wagon first came under attack, the vehicles and their add-on armour kits were
praised as “life-savers”. [1] As fatalities occurred, questions mounted. Why were those APS kits
not more effective? After all, the composite panels were the same material as that used on the LAV III or Bison.
The answer is simple. On LAVs, the panels are on flat armour. G-wagon panels are bolted onto mild steel. The
nature of blast compounds the problem. Like water, blast finds its way into door openings, irregular shapes (like
firewalls), and all the seams between APS panels.
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[1] Although it was apparent from early incidents that G-wagons were
unlikely to survive IED blasts, the occupants usually did. This was a welcome contrast to the unarmoured Iltis
which the G-wagons replaced. Three G-wagons were hit with IEDs (wounding 7 CF personnel) prior to 15
Jan. 2006 when a suicide bombing destroyed another G-wagon wounding three and taking the life of diplomat
Glyn Berry, FAC.
[2] It was announced in late March 2006 that “most” G-wagons in Afghanistan were being restricted to
base. It was later revealed through Access to Information Requests that this restriction never
occurred. Active patrolling by G-wagons in open country continued unabated.
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Credits –
all images: Canadian Forces/DND, except frame, body & firewall: ©Stephen
Priestley’06 (no re-use without prior permission).
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The 
or other high-risk operations. While sturdily built, the G-wagon is not an
armoured vehicle. It's a conventional SUV with a robust box-section ladder-frame to which the 1mm sheet-metal
body is attached. Light armour panels can then be bolted on.
In effect, the G-wagon is on the losing end of an arms race. Compared with the Iltis, the
G-wagon is extremely well-protected. Unfortunately, insugents have escalated this arms race with larger
(and better placed)
IEDs. This is a race that an LUVW cannot win. Better that in-country ops be left for the blast-resistant APV.
G-wagons still have a role to play[2] including patrols in the narrow streets of Kandahar (left).
However, the role of light utility vehicle must now be reconsidered.