On December 4, 2019, the 1,587th and last Medium Support Vehicle System (MSVS) truck was completed on the production lines in Marolles-en-Hurepoix. It was then shipped to Canada for final integration. On February 13th, 2020, Mack Defense handed it to the Canadian Army’s officials in Saint Nicolas, Quebec, thus concluding a threeyear industrial adventure which had started in France. The MSVS trucks’ first year of service has been extremely busy already, with deployments both in Canada and in foreign operations.
The Medium Support Vehicle System (MSVS) program was designed to provide Canada with a fleet of mid-sized, multi-purpose logistics vehicles to replace their aging Medium Logistics Vehicle Wheeled (MLVW) fleets, which had been in service since the 1980s. It also included the acquisition of Armored Protection Systems and trailers. These new trucks and their equipment had to be able to provide a complete transport capacity (particularly in terms of loading/unloading of loads or onboard equipment) in theaters of operation, both on national territory and abroad.
Under Phase 4 of the MSVS program, which included the provision of Standard Military Pattern (SMP) trucks, including their trailers and crane systems, armored cabins and protective equipment, and vehicle support, Arquus Engineering and Manufacturing teams led parts of the militarization for all five variants of the 1,587-trucks program. This complete militarization aimed at ensuring the vehicle met the true capabilities of a truck designed for military use.
Arquus has a solid and long experience in the design and production of logistic and tactical military carriers, both specifically designed for the military and commercially designed but transformed for military use. In France alone, this partnership with the Army continues today with the GBC8KT, GBC180, TRM10000, TRM 2000, VLRA, or Sherpa Medium trucks. In total, more than 10,000 trucks that are now used daily in the French Army alone are Arquus-made.
This expertise has recently led to the launch of a brand new logistics and tactical range, theARMIS FAMILY, consisting of three 4×4, 6×6 and 8×8 vehicles perfectly adapted to the needs of modern armed forces, designed by Arquus and built by the company and its French partners. This experience enabled Arquus to take charge of the studies and design of militarized enhancements and transformations for the vehicles designed for the Canadian Army. These activities ensured the definition of a coherent global architecture adapted to the specific requirements of the Canadian Army in support of their mission profile and anticipated global deployments.
The militarization activities were carried out at two Arquus sites, in close cooperation with other Volvo Group businesses, Renault Trucks, Mack Defense and Prevost, and under the supervision of the French defense procurement agency, the Délégation Générale de l’Armement (DGA), the program’s agent. As part of the MSVS Program, the rolling chassis arrived from two Renault Trucks plants, Bourg-enBresse (bare chassis) and Blainville (cab) and were delivered to Marolles-en-Hurepoix, where a production line was purposely set up to advance assembly by adding specific enhancements such as cold weather start kits, Crane and supporting Hydraulic System installations among key activities.