This ERC – Enhanced Recovery Capability project will replace the Canadian Armed Forces Heavy Logistic Vehicle Wheeled (HLVW) Wrecker/Recovery configuration. It will transform the recovery portion of the sustain capability by enabling modern technologies to effectively recover the newer and heavier armoured fighting and logistics vehicles that cannot currently be recovered in a safe and suitable manner
This project will rationalize, replace and modernize the in-service recovery capability and related equipment, thereby enabling sustain capability transformation to meet the needs of the Canadian Armed Forces Regular, Reserve and Joint units in a safe and effective manner. The project will field a new heavy recovery system to extract and winch mired wheeled vehicles, to right vehicles in a controlled manner, to lift vehicles and logistics containers (for recovery purposes) and to suspend tow damaged or unserviceable vehicles.
Funding Range: $250 million to $499 million
When it comes to the Enhanced Recovery Capability (ERC) program, Rheinmetall Canada stands out as the only pre-qualified bidder. The project will replace the CAF’s existing fleet of heavy tow trucks and associated equipment. The capability will enable modern technology to effectively recover newer and heavier armoured and logistics vehicles that cannot be recovered by the current fleet.
Rheinmetall has showcased its HX 10×10 Heavy Recovery Vehicle (HRV) which combines high off-road mobility with a heavy-duty recovery capability. It is able to recover vehicles in suspended as well as supported (underlift) tow mode. Highly mobile, the 10×10 vehicle features an underlift with a capacity of up to 15 tons as well as a recovery boom.
“In the specific case of the ERC project, the capability required was so unique that we were the only one that pre-qualified. We just delivered vehicles for field trials a few weeks ago. Our proposal and or our technical solution will now go through full testing and if we are compliant, then we could actually qualify ourselves to deliver that capability to the Canadian Forces,” said Alain Tremblay, Vice-President, Business Development and Innovation, Rheinmetall Canada. “The ERC requirement will be for a little less than 100 vehicles and that’s because ERC is a highly specialized platform. The LVM on the other hand is a little bit more than 2,000 platforms, so it is a very large opportunity — we are very confident that we have the best solutions for both projects.”
The Enhanced Recovery Capability (ERC) contributes to combat effectiveness by recovering vehicle casualties (where the tactical situation allows wheeled armoured fleets) to a location where it can be repaired, returned to combat, and/or denied from the enemy. The ERC project will replace the existing fleet of HLVW heavy tow trucks with an enhanced capability to match the new, heavier CAF wheeled vehicle fleets and the containerization of logistic vehicles. The project deliverables are expected to include heavy tow trucks and other special equipment for lifting and towing. Several armoured cab add-on kits or replacement cabs will be purchased to protect the crews when operating in high threat areas. ERC will be a single or dual-variant fleet comprised of ERC trucks and ERC Lifting and Controlled Righting System (LCRS) trucks.
Read our Canadian Army Vehicles Report for more details.
The budget projected for the ERC is $250 – $499 million CAD, which will enable the CAF to procure up to 159 new heavy wreckers and up to 24 Armoured Protection Kits; Infrastructure; and Integrated Logistics Support & In-Service Support solution.
When the LVM project delivers, along with the ERC and in-service MSVS, this will represent a complete modernization of the fleet of logistics vehicles that will enable reliable support to domestic and expeditionary operations.
Two competitive contracts have been awarded to Rheinmetall Canada Inc., located in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec. These 2 contracts are for the acquisition of Enhanced Recovery Capability (ERC) vehicles, equipment and in-service support (ISS). The acquisition contract, with an estimated value of $374 million (including taxes), is for a period of approximately 5 years and will deliver 85 ERC vehicles, 24 armoured cabs, associated ancillary equipment and integrated logistics support. The contract includes options to procure additional vehicles and armoured cabs. The ISS contract, with an initial estimated value of $30.4 million (including taxes), will cover an initial contract period of 8 years, plus option periods of up to 16 years. Work will include repair and overhaul, major repairs, spares replenishment and additional work requests once the vehicles are delivered.
