}} The Coyote has been in service since 1996 for use in the light
reconnaissance scout role. It was initially used in the role of medium tank trainer within armoured cavalry squadrons in the same way as the
AVGP Cougar it replaced.
Origins The Coyote reconnaissance vehicle is a non-
amphibious armoured reconnaissance vehicle based on the design of the LAV-25. The Canadian Forces ordered 203 of the vehicles in 1993 to replace the
Lynx reconnaissance vehicle. All were delivered and entered service by 1996. The Coyote originally came in three variants: the "mast" variant with a mast-mounted surveillance system, a variant with a remote surveillance suite, and a basic reconnaissance/command post variant.
Armament The Coyote mounts a 25×137mm
M242 Bushmaster chain gun and two
7.62×51mm NATO C6 general purpose machine guns in an electrically driven turret. The turret features a
laser-warning receiver, and mounts a total of eight grenade launchers in two clusters capable of firing smoke and fragmentation grenades. The remote surveillance variant consists of two tripod-mounted systems capable of being deployed up to 200 meters away from the vehicle. The surveillance systems can detect tank-sized targets at up to 12 kilometres away, and large truck-sized targets at up to 24 kilometres. In good conditions the visual surveillance system can detect personnel up to 20 kilometres away.
Variants Coyotes come in three variants: Command, Mast, and Remote. The Mast and Remote variants have a sophisticated suite of electronic surveillance equipment including
radar,
video, and
infrared surveillance night vision devices. The mast variant has this equipment mounted on a 10-metre telescoping mast that can be extended to raise the surveillance suite out from behind cover. The remote variant of the Coyote has its surveillance suite mounted on two short tripods, which crew can deploy remotely using a 200-metre spool of cable. When first purchased, the Coyote was designated for service with both the Regular Force and Reserve Force, with the Mast variants earmarked for the Regular units and the Remotes designated for the Reserves. Shortly after taking delivery of the vehicles, but before they were assigned to the Reserve units, all Coyotes were reassigned to the Regular Force.
Service history Since the introduction of the Coyote to the Canadian Armed Forces, the vehicle has been used domestically and abroad. The Coyote was deployed during the
United Nations / NATO missions in
Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Macedonia,
Kosovo, and in Afghanistan. Domestically, it was deployed during Operation Grizzly to Kananaskis to secure the
28th G8 summit, the
36th G8 summit, and the
G-20 Toronto summit, in addition to a number of domestic emergencies. As of 2015–2022, the Coyote was in the midst of a planned retirement and being replaced by a mix of
TAPV and
LAV VI armoured vehicles. The
Armed Forces of Ukraine received 64 Coyotes in December 2024 from Canada. == Operators ==