This command and reconnaissance vehicle was developed as a private venture by the then FMC Corporation (today known as United Defense LP) with the first prototype being completed in 1963.

The vehicle shares many common automotive components with the United Defense LP M113A1 armoured personnel carrier but is much lower, has its engine at the back instead of the front and has one fewer roadwheels each side. The vehicle has been bought by two countries, Canada and the Netherlands.

Canada calls the vehicle the Lynx and the first of 174 vehicles was completed in May 1968. The Royal Netherlands Army ordered 250 vehicles, the first of which was completed in September 1966 and they refer to the vehicle as the M113 C & R.

By late 1997, the Canadian vehicles had been replaced by the Diesel Division, General Motors of Canada LAV-25 (Reconnaissance) 8x8 vehicles and the Lynx were placed in reserve pending disposal.

In the Royal Netherlands Army the vehicles will be replaced by the SP aerospace and vehicle systems bv (previously DAF Special Products) LVB (4x4) reconnaissance vehicle which will also be used by the German Army under the name Fennek.

This programme has been delayed following problems with the prototypes of the LVB. It is now expected that the Netherlands vehicles will not start to be replaced until the year 2002 at the earliest.

The all-welded aluminium armour hull of the Lynx provides the crew with protection from small arms fire, flash burns and shell fragments.

The driver is seated at the front of the vehicle on the left side and has a single-piece hatch cover that opens to the rear with an integral M19 infrared periscope mounted in its roof and five M17 periscopes arranged around the forward part in the roof.

The commander, who also operates the main armament, is seated to the right and rear of the driver and is provided with an M26 turret that can be traversed manually through 360°, and which has eight vision blocks for all-round observation.

The third crew member, the radio operator/observer, is seated to the left rear of the commander/gunner and is provided with a single-piece hatch cover that opens to the rear. Three M17 and one M17C periscopes are mounted in the roof of the vehicle around the hatch cover.

Access to the engine at the rear of the hull on the right side is by a large hatch in the roof that opens to the right. There is an access door in the hull rear which opens to the left. Tine Detroit Diesel Model 6V-53 cliese! is coupled to an Allison TX100 transmission, which transmits power via a propeller shaft to the FMC DS200 controlled differential at the front of the hull, access to which is by an opening in the glacis plate.

The torsion bar suspension consists of four dual roadwheels each side, with the drive sprocket at the front and the idler wheel at the rear. There are no track-return rollers. The tops of the tracks have a rubber cover which can be removed to reduce the overall width of the vehicle.

The Lynx is fully amphibious, being propelled in the water by its tracks. Before entering the water, a trim vane is extended at the front of the hull and rectangular covers are erected around the air inlet and exhaust louvres on the top of the hull.

Standard equipment includes infrared driving lights and a fire extinguisher mounted in the engine compartment that can be operated by the driver or from outside the vehicle.

Optional equipment includes an NBC detection and alarm system, a heater, a windscreen and a capstan drum which, when attached to the drive sprockets and used in conjunction with an anchor and cables, can be used for self-recovery.

The M26 turret is armed with a 12.7 mm (0.50) M2 HB machine gun that can be aimed and fired from within the vehicle. Turret traverse and elevation of the main armament are manual. A 7.62 mm (0.30) machine gun is mounted at the radio operator/observer's station at the rear of the hull and three smoke grenade dischargers are mounted on either side of the hull at the front.

• Netherlands vehicle

The Netherlands vehicle has a layout slightly different from that of the Canadian Lynx. The driver is seated at the front of the vehicle on the left and has a single-piece hatch cover that opens to the rear with an integral M19 infrared periscope mounted in its roof and four M17 periscopes arranged around the forward part in the roof. The radio operator/gunner is seated to the right of the driver and has a hatch cover that opens to the rear and four M17 periscopes arranged around the forward part of the hatch cover. A 7.62 mm machine gun can be mounted forward of this hatch cover if required. There is an entry door in the right side of the hull, to the rear of the radio operator/gunner.

When originally delivered, the Netherlands vehicles were armed with a 12.7 mm (0.50) machine gun but in May 1974 the Royal Netherlands Army ordered 266 Oerlikon Contraves GBD-AOA turrets armed with a 25 mm Oerlikon Contraves KBA-B cannon for installation on the vehicles.

• Product improved vehicle

For trials purposes the manufacturer fitted a vehicle with a new tube-over-bar suspension system, similar to that fitted to its Armored Infantry Fighting Vehicle and a more powerful turbocharged diesel engine. These modifications give the vehicle improved cross-country performance and a higher road speed.

Production complete. No longer being marketed. In service with Canada (reserve) and the Royal Netherlands Army where it will be replaced in the future by the LVB (or Fennek as it is called by the German and Royal Netherlands armies) 4x4 vehicle.