NZ, awaiting new Bushmasters, sells surplus NZLAVs to Chile
New Zealand has sold off 22 NZLAV 8x8 armoured vehicles to the Chilean Marine Corps. (Gordon Arthur)
New Zealand has been looking to sell off surplus-to-requirement NZLAVs for some time, even more so as it awaits its first Bushmasters later this year.
The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) announced on 20 April that it had sold 22 surplus NZLAV 8x8 armoured vehicles armed with M242 Bushmaster 25mm cannons to Chile.
The LAV III vehicles, built in Canada by General Dynamics Land Systems, will be adopted by the brigade-strength Chilean Marine Corps, part of the Chilean Navy. The first batch of vehicles will be shipped later this year, and the second lot in 2023.
The Chilean Marine Corps currently operates 45 FV101 Scorpion tracked reconnaissance vehicles, according to Shephard Defence Insight.
The sale, which took more than two years to negotiate fully, nets
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